Sermon Text for January 30, 2022 - "Sovereign Love"

 “Sovereign Love”

January 30, 2022

 

            Dear brothers and sisters, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

            I’d like to begin this morning by giving a shout-out to a local celebrity: specifically, I want to pay tribute to Jim McCutcheon, who is also known around here as the Guitar Man. He also owns McCutcheon Music over in Centerville; if you haven’t yet seen him in concert, listened to any of his music, or visited his music store, you definitely owe it to yourself to. You’ll really find it an enjoyable experience. Those of you who follow me on social media have probably noticed I’ve been posting about musical instruments again. Well, as it happens, the Guitar Man is actually who inspired me to talk about the various musical instruments I have, along with being asked by Tish to give musical demonstrations to the YMCA summer campers last summer, and to become known, at least to the YMCA summer campers, as “The Instrument Guy.” A year ago last summer, I was privileged to see the Guitar Man give a mini-concert in Germantown, and afterwards, I actually got to meet him, and I asked him what his one main secret for giving his concerts was. His advice was surprising, but was also really simple and profound: “Do everything from a place of love.”

            What I took him to mean, and what I still continue to understand he means, is that the best way to connect with your audience, and make sure you keep having their attention, is to let them know you love them. You’re not just there to give a presentation and then leave: you’re there because you really do love the people you’re with, you care about them personally, you want them to have a good time, and you want them to experience the same joy you get every time you do what you’re doing for them. You’re also being genuine and real, and you’re demonstrating that you’re being genuine and real in how you interact with the people you’re with, showing you really do care about them. You’re not just doing what you do just for yourself: you’re doing it for another person, and you enjoy what you’re doing because you’re doing it for another person. It’s really all about making connections, and making connections out of love and concern for others, and being humble and genuine in doing so. What the Guitar Man says is true: Do everything from a place of love. Do it because you love people and want to make a lasting, real connection with the people you meet. Do it because you want to make an impact and you want to make a difference, not for yourself or your own self-satisfaction, but for other people.

            Generally, that’s what true love is. It’s all about people. It’s about making a genuine connection out of a desire to show care and concern for another person, and have our happiness come from knowing we’ve connected with someone in a special way, and shown them we care for them and we’re concerned about their happiness and well-being. In today’s Second Reading from First Corinthians, we hear more about this kind of love, which is not only practical advice, but is the exactly the kind of love God shows us, and the kind of love we are to show to others in response to God’s special kind of love. This is the love that is called agape in Greek: love that gives and wants to connect simply for the sake of giving and connecting, and having the giving without expecting anything in return be its own reward. God showed us this kind of love in the greatest way possible by becoming like us to make a deep connection with us. Jesus became a human being like us in order to connect with each of us personally, to be able to experience our life and understand us. Everything He did while He was on this earth, He also did from a place of love. He healed the sick, raised the dead, and even turned water into wine not simply to demonstrate how powerful He was, but to help, to show concern, to show love and help the well-being of everyone He came in contact with. He did what He did because He loved, and still loves people. Since He has become like us and understands us, He is able to help us in every situation. His desire to help us is also unconditional: He is genuinely concerned about us at any given time, and wants nothing more than to give Himself to us. He was also unconditional in whom we helped while He was on this earth, as God had always been: Jesus even points this out in today’s Gospel reading, showing that God was even willing to show love and help to people outside of Israel – something which His audience, even the people He had grown up with in His own hometown, found offensive. And yet, God’s love is offensive – it offends our logic and preferences. God does not love the same way we love: He loves whomever He chooses, which may be offensive to us at times, but for which we are to be thankful for, because this means God even loves us. Even if we don’t always love ourselves, God still loves us. He showed this in the most real way possible when He died on the cross and rose again to save us from our sins, and win eternal life for us. Again, He did all this not to earn any special recognition or appreciation for Himself, but only for us. Even when He was rejected, and even when He continues to be rejected nowadays, He still perseveres and hopes: He never gives up on anyone, He always hopes for and wants the best for everyone, and He certainly never gives up on us and hopes for and wants the best for us. This is truly a more excellent way to love, because it is different from the kind of love we usually think of when we think of love. Love is not just about getting what we want, but it is about making a genuine connection with another person, and having that connection go both ways – someone wants to connect with us as much as we want to connect with them. Love is not something we do just for our own satisfaction or our own enjoyment, but true love is something we do for the benefit of another person. Sometimes we may not always get the appreciation we expect from showing love to another person, nor should we always expect to. But everything we do for another person, we do from a place of love. 

But again, we have to understand what love really is. Love is not simply an emotion, or a feeling. Love is not a sentiment, or even just an attitude we are to have towards anyone or anything. Love is a verb. Love is an action. Love is not just being nice, or even just being kind to someone, but it is doing everything possible to show real concern for someone’s happiness and well-being, which often takes work and effort. This is the kind of love by which we are able to reach and impact people more effectively. We always are to remember that we do not exist for ourselves alone: we exist for other people, just as God does. God does not just exist for Himself, but He exists for connections. He is deeply connected with each one of us, and He desires for us to be deeply connected with each other, and seek out new people to be connected with. We exist to make connections with other people, and we seek to do so by actively understanding and appreciating other people. We exist to seek to understand and appreciate other people’s experiences, hopes, dreams, struggles, and appreciate them for who they are and where they are. We exist to seek to honor and respect people for who they are and where they have been, and demonstrate the kind of love God has for us and for all people in doing so. Respecting and honoring someone for who they are and where they have been also involves a lot of work and effort, because we want to try to “fix” another person, or make them into who we want them to be. However, this is exactly the kind of pride, or arrogance, which St. Paul says love is not: it is instead, whatever effort it may take, Love also involves commitment, which is what preserving and hoping is. When I do relationship counseling with couples who are either about to be married or already married, I always emphasize that the reason for getting married is not just because of being in love, but out of a desire to be committed to each other. This means that love involves humility: humility in a relationship does not mean denying one’s own identify, sense of self-worth, or self-esteem, nor does it mean having to surrender who one is entirely in order to earn the love of another person. It also does not mean having to change completely and become exactly like another person in order to have a relationship. That is what a dysfunctional, manipulative, even an abusive relationship is, and is not a truly loving relationship. Instead, love with humility means recognizing that no people are exactly alike in a relationship, and it means setting aside any pride, needing to be boastful or needing to be right, and instead protecting the relationship, trusting each other, and being willing to do whatever it takes to help each other persevere in the relationship. This might even mean being willing to adapt, but doing so ought to benefit not just one person in the relationship, but both people. 

            However, the other reason we’re talking about what love is today is not only to get a glimpse of how to make our own relationships better. That is good practical advice, but we are called for something even greater. We have been called to love for a special reason: to show God’s love to bring people to Him. We are called to make connections with people for the purpose of God changing their lives through us. As God says to Jeremiah in today’s First Reading, and whether or not we realize it, as Christians we have been given power over nations and kingdoms: we have the power to speak God’s words to change lives, hearts, and even the course of history. But with this great power comes great responsibility. We are to be asking whether what we do for another person, or for people, really does come from a point of love: if we really are concerned about caring for the sake of caring, or if we expect something in return. We are also to use the words we are given to speak to build up and plant, specifically, to plant and build up connections and relationships with other people. Love is a far more powerful way to convince people of who God really is, and that He is the only one true God, than trying to force people through argument or any other means of forceful persuasion. Love can move hearts with even more power than it takes to uproot mountains and trees. With this in mind, we also always have to be asking ourselves: what’s powering us? What’s motivating us? Why do we do what we do, whether as Christians, or as a church family? Is it simply to fulfill a duty, an activity, or is it to show others the love God has shown us? Are we motivated by a desire to grow, or to grow in love? We are to be asking whether we are indeed powered and motivated by God’s love. Whatever we do, whatever we believe we are called to do by God at any given moment, we are to do everything from a place of love.

            Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Weekly Word Podcast - Full Worship Service for January 30, 2022

 

01/30/2022 Full Worship Service

Sermon Text for January 23, 2022 - "Equal Concern"

 “Equal Concern”

January 23, 2022

 

            Dear brothers and sisters, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

            Praise God that, even after yet another nail-biter game yesterday, the Bengals are well on the way forward! However, since I’ve used football as my opening example the last couple of weeks, and I don’t want to get in a rut, I’m going to do something a little different this morning. Since, in addition to being a sports fan, I’m also a music fan, we’re going to play a game called: “Name That Band.”

            The object is actually very simple: I give out the name of classic rock band members, and all of you get to guess the band they’re either part of or were part of. I’ll start off with an easy one:

John, Paul, George, and Ringo

Mick, Keith, Brian, Bill, and Charlie

Bono, Edge, Adam, and Larry

Now, the reason for this little exercise is to demonstrate the fact that usually, when we think of a band, we only think of the band name. But we tend to forget that bands are made up of individuals. Each individual has a special part to play in the band, because each individual affects the overall sound of the band. But sometimes, even though they are of equal importance, certain individuals in the band tend to be forgotten – often times, until they end up leaving the band. But if all the members of the band are equally recognized, appreciated, and valued, all the members of the band enjoy being in the band and making music, and then the quality of the band’s music remains high and enjoyable for everyone.

            In a similar way, we are like a band. In today’s Second Reading, St. Paul describes us as being a body, where, just as each one of our body parts are of equal importance, each one of us are of equal importance. If we each are recognized, appreciated, and valued, then our overall quality can be at its best, and we can enjoy being part of the body, which influences how we act towards each other, and everyone else.

            Our value and importance is, even from the outset, perhaps even greater than we imagine, because of our value and importance to God. God valued and appreciated us so much that He sent His Son to die on the cross to bring us back to Him, and then rise again to promise us eternal life. However, Jesus’ death and resurrection was not only for us to be able to go to heaven: it shows how much God is concerned about our overall health and well-being. Jesus came not only to die and rise again, but He also came to heal. He came, as He points out in today’s Gospel reading, quoting directly from the Prophet Isaiah in today’s First Reading, to give sight to the blind, to release captives, and free the oppressed. He emphasizes that He Himself is able to fulfill these words, because, being God Himself, He has the very power and authority of God to do so. He also did not come just to start a group, or an institution: as we talked about just a couple of weeks ago, He came to make us part of His family. And in His family, He wants to make sure that each of us are loved, valued, cared for, and know that each one of us are of high quality and value to Him.

This means that we here today are not just a group, or an institution. We are a family. In our own families, we’ve noticed that the mood of one person in the family can affect the mood of everyone in the family. If one person is having a bad day, everyone has a bad day. Or, if one person is happy and has reason to celebrate, everyone is happy and has reason to celebrate. The health of a family also depends on whether each member of the family is willing to be sensitive to and care about the needs, moods, and well-being of the other members of the family. Also, the health of a family depends on whether each member of the family feels equally recognized, appreciated, and affirmed for who they are and the value they have in the family. Since we are a family, we are are also to be concerned about whether we make each other feel recognized, appreciated, and affirmed for the special value each one of us have in this family. The quality of our family depends greatly on how much we value each other and how much we feel valued. But even then, we are more than just a family:

            We are the body of Christ. Jesus is still among us in spirit, but we are His visible body. We make Him real among ourselves and to the rest of the world. Our own bodies may have individual parts, but together they make up our whole body. We are individuals, and each one of us are special and unique in our own way, making up the whole body of Christ. And as members, that is, parts of the body of Christ, we make up a whole. This means we are to care for each other, His body, as much as we do our own bodies. You’ve probably noticed that if one part of your body is hurting, then the rest of your body suffers. This is especially why, in this cold and flu season, not to mention with the coronavirus still going around, it’s important for you to love yourself, take care of yourself, and treat your body as well as possible. With all the continuing stress that’s going on because of many different things, it’s important for you to be able to care for yourself by doing things you enjoy, spending time with family and friends in any way you can, and making sure you’re always aware of how your body feels. Make sure you’re doing things that help you feel valued and appreciated by you yourself. Most of all, always be willing to ask for help or support. If one of us is feeling under pressure or stressed in any way, it affects every one of us, so it is important for us to be able to be supportive to help relieve each other’s pressure or stress. We can listen to each other, and so help heal each other. Also, the way we speak to each other, or about each other, can make a difference: speaking encouraging and affirming words to each other can help us feel valued, and help us to believe that we are important, and we have high quality in our church family. Just as speaking encouraging and affirming words to ourselves can help our minds and bodies feel healthy, doing the same for each other can help us, as a body, feel whole and healthy as well.

There is no doubt that the past couple of years have been stressful. The pandemic, which is still ongoing, has caused a lot of stressful change and worry. We have also expressed our stress in different ways. For some of us, this stress has probably also caused any mental or physical struggle we have already had to intensify. This is why the need to recognize, appreciate, and value each other is all the greater than before. Recognizing, appreciating, and valuing each other means listening to and validating each other’s stresses, struggles, and concerns. We can also recognize that each one of us are oppressed in some way – pressured by stresses and struggles, and that our stresses and struggles can affect our moods and attitudes, recognizing that all of these are perfectly valid, and we can allow each other to struggle. Sometimes, just being listened to can help relieve our stresses, put our struggles in perspective, and help relieve our pressures. Just as we are to listen to our own bodies to be able to treat ourselves the best way possible, we are to listen to each other – the body – to be able to treat each other the best way possible.

We particularly, as a body, and as a family, are to be aware of the amount of stress we are still carrying, what we have been storing among us. As with our individual bodies, it is easier for us to become sick or ill as a body if we allow ourselves to become overly stressed, and if we allow painful memories or attitudes to fester. Just as leaving a cut or wound untreated, and allowed to fester, leads to infection, or leaving any other symptoms untreated can lead to becoming sick, leaving any wounds or pain untreated among us can also lead to infection and sickness. The most effective way to deal with any untreated wounds is to address them directly, especially by going directly to anyone whom we believe has wounded us, listening to each other’s point of view, and attempting to resolve the situation. If doing so is impossible, we can pray to God to help us be able to forgive, so that whatever the pain, hurt, or situation may be no longer determines how we act or think. The reason for all this is so that we, as a body, can be healthy, to be able to move in the direction God desires for us, because:

We have a purpose. As the body of Christ, our purpose is to carry out His plan. His plan is for us to carry out His work – the work which Jesus did by fulfilling the words of Isaiah. As I talked about last week, each one of us plays a special part and has a special role in the ministry of our church family. We each can help release each other from oppression: oppression caused by the pain of stress or illness. Rather than depending on only one person, the health of the body, our church family, depends on everyone – on each one of us. Our ability to move forward as a church family also depends on each one of us. Just as each of our body parts need to be moving together in order to move in the same direction, each of us also need to be moving in the same direction in order to move forward. In order for our church family, the body of Christ, to be able to be healthy and grow into God’s purpose and plan for us, we are to be moving forward together. If we are healthy and growing together, then we are able to, by the power of Jesus, speak and act with the authority of God far more effectively. 

            Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.

Weekly Word Podcast - Full Worship Service for January 23, 2022

 

01/23/2022 Full Worship Service

Weekly Word Podcast - Full Worship Service for January 16, 2022

 

Sermon Text for January 16, 2022 - "The Only Way is One"

 “The Only Way is One”

January 16, 2022

 

Dear brothers and sisters, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

I believe I’m contractually obligated to ask: who won the wild card game against the Raiders last night? And how many years has it been? That’s right! Not just after thirty one years, but after the last two years, we’ve needed something encouraging, to lift our spirits and morale, especially after the demoralizing and discouraging past couple of years as we’ve battled through the coronavirus and everything else that’s been going on in our state. Often times it’s looked like nothing could possibly happen to lift our spirits and give us a reason to be happy and celebrate. Especially with the Bengals, because apparently there’s been a theory that the Bengals have been cursed because of a certain player tackling another certain player, ending his football career, thirty one years ago. But then, after thirty one years, the Bengals do the unexpected and win a round in the wild card playoffs. As one headline put it, the curse has been lifted. We might even call it a miracle!

That itself is actually a word that gets tossed around a lot, without any real thought about what it really means. But what is a miracle? One definition of a miracle is “a highly improbable or extraordinary event, development, or accomplishment that brings very welcome consequences.”

In today’s Gospel reading, that’s exactly what happens: Jesus, His mother, and His disciples are at a wedding, and at this wedding the wine runs out. Back in Jesus’ time, this would have been considered disastrous: as long as the wine continued, the party continued. Sometimes a wedding feast could last for up to a week, as long as the wine continued. Making sure that enough wine was available was also considered a sign of responsible hospitality, since the bride and groom were expected to provide for their guests and make sure they had the best, and their guests felt good about being there celebrating. In short, as long as the wine was available, joy was available. Especially since, for many people, life was hard, difficult, discouraging, and provided few reasons to celebrate and be happy, so an event like a wedding feast provided a wonderful time for joy, happiness, and encouragement. Not only did a wedding feast give everyone a time to celebrate the couple’s new happiness and wish them well for their life together, but it also gave them a chance to catch up with each other, and provide special love and support for each other in the midst of their struggles and hard lives. But unfortunately, in this case, the wine has run out, the party is over, and there’s no more reason to celebrate. What to do? Jesus simply comes in and turns water into wine. Which may seem like a small act, but it makes a big difference. Jesus, in more ways than one, saves the day by keeping the party going. He gives the . He not only turns water into wine, He turns it into the best wine, showing that He wants the best for everybody, whatever that best might be. Whenever our joy seems to have run out, Jesus comes through in just the right way at just the right time to lift us up and give us joy and hope again – often in an unexpected way. It can be an encouraging word from a friend, or even a stranger; a gift; a visit, phone call, or text; or some other message which lifts us up and gives us joy and encouragement again. Just like the wedding feast gave everyone a time to love, encourage, and support each other, Jesus gives us times, often unexpected times, for people to love, encourage, and support us. At times when we feel discouraged, defeated, or downtrodden, we can, and should, expect for Jesus to cause those times to happen, and for Him to lift us up and encourage us in an unexpected way. This is what hope is – and we can have this hope in any situation, because of Jesus.

But what it also demonstrates is the primary definition of a miracle: “a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.”  As Isaiah prophesied in our First Reading, God made Jesus higher than any other being, more glorious than any other ruler on earth. He restored God’s people to their rightful place – lifted out of hopelessness, despair, and humiliation, and bringing them to hope, happiness, and their rightful place of being exalted by God. He did this by dying on the cross, offering Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of every person, and then rising again, defeating the laws of nature, by defeating death, promising eternal life to everyone who believes in Him. Jesus, being God, is not bound by the laws of nature. He can operate in any way He wants to, even breaking the laws of nature to give us what we need in just the right way. If He can turn water into wine, there’s no telling what He can’t accomplish to turn things around for us and make things better again. We also tend to forget that Jesus wants us to be happy. Jesus wants the best for us. We tend to think that following Jesus, and being a Christian, means that we have to be sad, beat ourselves up over everything we’ve done wrong, and feel bad about ourselves. But that’s not what Jesus actually wants for us. Being a Christian means having a close, personal relationship with Jesus. He wants to have a relationship with us, and having a relationship with us means one where He loves us: He wants us to feel good about ourselves, and, most of all, feel joyful about Him. When there seems to be no hope and encouragement, Jesus overcomes all odds and obstacles to bring it into our lives again. And, often times He does so in ways that are hidden, behind the scenes, like secretly turning water into wine – He causes small, secret things to happen to turn things around, make things better for us, and encourage us. He still works miracles, even small ones, to this day. We can be encouraged by this.

As another point, the greatest encourager we have in today’s story is Mary. We tend to remember Mary only at Christmas, as being the mother of Jesus. But actually, Mary doesn’t always get the proper credit or honor she deserves. She actually plays a bigger role in Jesus’ life, and does a lot more in the Bible than we realize, especially in this case. Being Jesus’ mother, and having lived with Him for the past thirty years, and seen who He really is and what He can do, she recognizes that He has the power to be able to turn things around and make them better again. Mary, doing what every loving and responsible mom does, encourages her son to use His particular gifts and talents. So, even though He is reluctant at first, she encourages Him to use the special powers He has to bring joy and happiness to the celebration again. In doing so, Mary is the example for how we are to approach challenges, for ourselves and for each other: by asking Jesus for help, to use His power and abilities to help us. 

We actually need more people like Mary: people who are willing not just to look for the positive solutions to problems, but who know where exactly where to go to find those solutions – directly to Jesus. We need more people who encourage us not just to think positive, but to go right to Jesus, to pray to Him for help whenever we’re facing an impossible, demoralizing, or discouraging problem, and to believe that, just as He was able to turn water into wine, Jesus can do the impossible to overcome the impossible. If you are that person right now, I encourage you to use your gift and talent – we need you right now. We need you to encourage us to go to Jesus with every need. We need you to pray for us. We need you to encourage us to pray to Jesus and trust Jesus to help us. We need you to remind us we’re not alone – we have Jesus. Again, we need more people like Mary – and if you are that person, I encourage you, be like Mary: don’t be afraid to speak up, don’t be afraid to encourage us and give us the hope we need, don’t be afraid to give us the right perspective, don’t be afraid to point us in the right direction, don’t be afraid to pray for us, don’t be afraid to ask Jesus to help us, don’t be afraid to encourage us to keep trusting Jesus. Also, don’t be afraid to encourage us by telling us what you love, admire, and affirm about us. We need you – in fact, we need you more than ever. We need to encourage each other to want the best and seek the best for each other. We need more voices which encourage us to ignore the negative we hear, whether inside ourselves or from other people, and listen to God’s encouragement and affirmation instead. We need more voices which encourage us to keep moving forward. We need more voices of support. We need to believe that, just as Jesus is the God who is in total control of nature, and can even operate outside of nature to accomplish great things, He is the same God who can come through for us and do things to give us hope and joy, and make us happy again. We need to believe that He is the same God who causes things to happen to pick us up when we’re down and discouraged, and when we need extra encouragement to lift us up. We need to believe that God can still cause miracles to happen – even if we can’t always recognize them, we can still expect them.

One of the greatest miracles we are experiencing right here, right now, is the fact that we are all here together. Even despite overwhelming odds, such as the coronavirus, or any other struggles we may be going through as a church right now, we’re still able to worship and fellowship together. And the reason we are able to be here is because of the Holy Spirit.

As St. Paul remind us in today’s Second Reading in 1 Corinthians 12:3, we can’t even say “Jesus is Lord” unless the Holy Spirit gives us the power to do so. We can’t follow Jesus, especially when our own energy and hope is spent, unless the Holy Spirit helps us to do so. The Holy Spirit has been who has kept encouraging us to keep trusting Jesus, trusting that He has the best for us in mind, and following Him where He leads us. The Holy Spirit has been the one who has been encouraging us to keep going and keep moving forward. The Holy Spirit has also been using each one of us to encourage each other, to keep going and not give up. Sometimes the Holy Spirit has told us the opposite of what we expected to hear, especially for how to move forward, but where the Holy Spirit has led us has always turned out for the best.

At this point, I would like to take a few moments to lift up and recognize our Church Council and Staff. Our Church Council and Staff are a wonderful demonstration of how we all can follow the Holy Spirit by using our gifts and talents to encourage and support each other as a church family. If it were not for each and every member of our Church Council and our Staff, our church family would not be in the position we’re in right now to be able not only to keep going, but look forward and move forward with hope. Even though it has been a challenging past couple of years, our Church Council and Staff have gone above and beyond to make sure we are able to adapt to the present circumstances and move forward safely as a congregation, especially by making sure that our building is safe and maintained, our worship practices keep everyone safe and healthy. I encourage all of you to encourage and affirm our Church Council and Staff for the wonderful work they’re all doing. Also, not only our Church and Staff deserve our encouragement and affirmation: each and every one of you are just as much an invaluable part of the direction and ministry of our church family. The many wonderful things each of you do help us all to experience God’s love, and help our community to experience God’s love. Everything you do for each other, for our church family, and for our community, makes a big difference. So I want to encourage all of you: keep doing what you’re doing. Everything you do is valuable, more than you may realize, and makes a big difference.

Even though, after everything I’ve said, today’s Sermon should technically be titled “Encouraged by Miracles,” the original title, “The Only Way is One,” still remains true. The only way for us to be able to continue to keep going, even with our current struggles caused by the pandemic and other factors, is to remain one and be united. We are to remain united with Jesus, in a relationship with Him, enjoying a relationship with Him – experiencing joy from Jesus, and the miracles He does for us, even small ones, every day. Being happy in a relationship with Jesus means that we receive encouragement from Him – often in ways we don’t expect, but we can expect to happen, because Jesus always comes through for us. We can also be united in one purpose: as Jesus wants the best for us, we can also want the best for each other. This means encouraging, uplifting, and affirming each other. We can especially encourage, uplift, and affirm each other as a church family, as we continue to struggle together. We can continue to use our gifts and talents to build each other up and build up our church family. Even though we may be tempted to lose hope, lose perspective, and lose sight of what our true purpose is, we can encourage each other to stay focused on Jesus – the same Jesus who turned water into wine is the same Jesus who helps us, and even works miracles, for us. Jesus is with us, is for us, and is on our side – let’s encourage each other with this truth.

Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.

01/16/2022 Full Worship Service

Sermon Text for January 9, 2022 - "Hearing Voices"

“Hearing Voices”

January 9, 2022

 

            Dear brothers and sisters, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

            Who all is planning on watching the College Football National Championship tomorrow night? I’m not actually going to ask what team you’re rooting for tomorrow, because that not only is not the point of today’s message, but would probably cause a rivalry, which is definitely not the point of today. Instead, think about this for a moment: a lot of the reason we watch sports is to root for a certain team. We’re interested in seeing a certain team win because we identify with it. Rooting for a certain team becomes our identity, because it is what we regard as being important, even more important than anything else.

If we also think about it, there are a lot of other things which form our identity, and which we identify with. Where we grew up, where we live, where we go to school, what we do, or used to do, for a living, what we hold to be important, all these things form our identity, and give us a sense of who we think we are. If anyone asks us the question, “Who are you?”, or even, “Who do you think you are?”, there are a lot of different ways we can identify ourselves. We can talk about the town or state we live in, what our background is, where we go or have gone for school, what we do, what our affiliations are, or, again, what sports teams we root for. We also want to belong, to belong to a certain group or crowd, so we emphasize certain things we identify with in order to fit in or be accepted. Unfortunately, it can happen where what we identify with, what we hold to be important, can become a source of division. We can forget who we really are, especially as we try to identify ourselves in many different ways, and we can believe ourselves to be more superior to anyone else because of our identity. When that happens, we actually lose sight of who we really are, and what is actually important for us to identify ourself with and how we are to be defined.

As it happens, there is only one identity, one way which we can identify ourselves, which transcends and is more important than any other ones: being baptized, and being a child of God. Because we are baptized, we belong: we belong to the Church, to the family of God. We fit in to the family of God, to the Church, and we are all united together as one family, because God has caused us to be so. And He has done so by our being baptized. The voice of God, as we hear read in the Bible today, tells us this plainly and clearly.

Today we remember the Baptism of Jesus, and the reason He was baptized. The reason He was baptized, was, of course, not the exact same reason why we are baptized. He did not need to be freed from sin, because He had no sin. Instead, He was baptized to demonstrate who He really was. He was the one about whom Isaiah had prophesied a long time before, which we hear about in our First Reading, the servant who was going to come to do God’s work. He was going to come not in a flashy display of power, but instead in humility and gentleness, down to the level of those whom He came to serve. He came to identify with us, to become like us and be honored to become like us. As Isaiah 42:3 says, “A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice.” He was going to come not to force those who had turned away from God, or who had been turned away from God, by threatening them, but by reaching out to them with kindness and love. He was not going to come to punish those who were wounded and suffering, but instead to bring true justice, by restoring who had been wounded, who had been mistreated or abused, and who were suffering to health, happiness, and hope. He was going to come to demonstrate that not only one particular group of people, or one nation, were to be regarded as God’s children, but that everyone who believed in God were His children. As Isaiah 42:6 says, “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.” And that is exactly what Jesus did. He came to identify with us, and with everything we are. He came not as a fully glorious divine being, but as a human being just like us, coming down to our level and making Himself accessible to everyone. He came to bring people to God, not by threatening them, but by reaching out to them to relieve their suffering, heal their wounds and illnesses, rescue them from the power of the devil, and forgive their sins. When He was baptized, this was God’s way of confirming that He was the one Isaiah, and all the prophets before Him, had claimed He was. He came to share our life, our experiences, even sharing our struggles and suffering, to be able to help us in every need. He ultimately came to suffer and die, to take the punishment for our sins on Himself, so our sins could be forgiven, and to rise again, to give us eternal life. Because He suffered the punishment for our sins, He has made us clean, because of the sacrifice of Jesus; because God accepts us as clean because, and only because, of the sacrifice of Jesus, God is well pleased with us. The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus when He was baptized to anoint Him in power – the power to heal the sick, forgive sin, raise people from the dead, to show compassion and comfort to everyone suffering, and to bring hope. Furthermore, as Isaiah had prophesied in Isaiah 42:7, Jesus came to free us: He came to free us from being blinded by everything which was keeping us from seeing God, and from recognizing who we really are. He came to rescue us from the prisons in which we trap ourselves, especially the prisons of our identity, of our past, and of our experiences, especially our negative experiences: the ways in which we trap ourselves by thinking that where we’re from, what we do, or what we’ve done, any way in which we try to define ourselves, or others may define us, is all we are. He came to free us from confusing the opinions of others with the opinions of God: instead, He has made it clear what God’s opinion of us is – He loves us and we are His children. He came to free us by making us realize that we are something more: we are children of God. We are Christians.

As St. Peter testifies in Acts 10:34, “God does not show favoritism, but God accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” Fearing God means believing that He does what He promises to help and save us, and doing what is right means believing that what God offers us through Jesus in Baptism is true. It is why we are able to be called Christian, and the one and only identity we are to carry. We are called Christians because Christ identifies with us, and we identify with Christ: we are united to Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, and so we are promised that God forgives our sins, helps us in all our sufferings, makes us become more like Him through our sufferings, and gives us life with Him forever after death. Jesus also identifies with us: He is proud to be like us, and He is proud to say that we are His family. This is a great comfort for us as we do struggle and suffer in life, but also know and believe that, because Jesus also struggled and suffered, He understands us, He understands the life we live, He understands our struggles, and He shows compassion to us, not only by suffering with us, but by bringing us through all of our sufferings to healing and victory. The same voice which spoke to Jesus from heaven at His Baptism is the same voice which speaks to us today. The same voice which calls Jesus His Son, with whom He is well pleased, is the same voice which tells us that we are all God’s children, and so God is well pleased with each and every one of us. Because God is pleased with Jesus, He is also pleased with us. Baptism is also the confirmation of the unbreakable covenant, or promise, that each one of us are connected with Jesus in a bond which can never be broken for any reason. Even if we were to turn away from Jesus, that bond, that connection can still never be broken. Jesus remains connected with us, no matter what happens. Nothing, not even any way we may think about ourselves, or others may think of us, can separate us from Jesus.

So, if anyone asks us the question, “Who are you?” there is actually an easy answer: “I am a child of God.” If anyone asks us “Who do you think you are?” there is also any easy answer:

 “I am a Christian. I am someone who is loved, accepted, and saved by God. And, I not only think this, but I know this, I believe this, I can say all this is true, because I am baptized!” If any voices try to challenge us and ask, “How do you know this?” we can say, with absolute confidence, “Because God has told me so. He has told me so in His Word. God has promised me that everything He says is true. If He says I am His child, then I am His child. If He says He loves me, then He loves me. If He says there is hope for me, then there is hope for me. If He says my sins are forgiven, then they are forgiven. If He says I am clean, then I am clean. If He says He is well pleased with me, then He is well pleased with me. If He says I am a Christian, then I am a Christian. If He says I am saved, then I am saved. He promises me all this because Jesus died and rose again for me. And He further promises me all this because I am baptized. I also believe that I am something far more than what I may think I am, or others may think I am. I will not let myself be defined by what I used to be, what I do, or by anything else. I will not confuse people’s opinions of me with God’s opinion of me. I will not be trapped this way any more. I will let anything that has been done to me in the past define who I am. I will also not let other people define me: any other voice which tries to tell me who they think I am, is not the voice of God. God says that I am His child, and because of that, I am worth everything to Him, and that is enough. I know who I am, and God knows who I am.”

Unfortunately, there are many voices which may sound like God, because they claim to speak for God. So today, we have to make clear what the voice of God truly says, and what it does not say. And, I want to speak directly to anyone who has felt turned away from God, or from the family of God, from the Church, by certain voices which have claimed to speak for Him. Any voice that tells you that you are not a Christian is not the voice of God. Any voice which tells you that because of your past, what you have done, you cannot call yourself a child of God, is not the voice of God. Any voice which tells you that God is not pleased with you is not the voice of God. Any voice which tells you that God’s love for you is conditional, that is, God loves you only if you do certain things or are a certain way, is not the voice of God. Any voice that tells you that you deserve the hurt or abuse someone did to you is not the voice of God. Any voice which tells you that no one can help you as you struggle or suffer, and that God is somehow punishing you by leaving you alone in your sufferings, is not the voice of God. Any voice which tells you that you are not truly a Christian, whether because you do not agree with certain ideas, or follow certain rules, is not the voice of God. Any voice which tells you that you are lost and there is no hope for you is not the voice of God. Most of all, any voice which tells you that you are not welcome and do not belong, or fit in, to the Church, in the family of God, because of who you are, or for any other reason, is definitely not the voice of God. On the other hand, any voice which tells you that you are welcome, you are accepted, you belong, you are saved by Jesus, and so you are accepted because of Jesus, and you are a child of God, is the voice of God. Any voice which tells you that God’s love for you is unconditional is the voice of God. Any voice which tells you that there is hope and healing for you, especially from your past or any hurt that was done to you, is the voice of God. Any voice which tells you that you are a child of God only because of everything Jesus has done, and not because of anything you have done, is the voice of God. Any voice which tells you that you are a child of God because, and only because, you have been saved by Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection, with no other requirements necessary, is the voice of God. No matter who you are, Jesus still identifies with you, and He is proud to call you His brother or sister. No matter who you are, or what you have done, God calls you His child, and He is proud to call you His child, because He is well pleased with you. This is the true voice of God – which we can believe.

And then, the question is, after we hear the true voice of God, with what voice do we ourselves speak on His behalf? We always have to keep in mind that, just as Jesus was anointed for a special identity and mission in His Baptism, we also have been anointed for a special identity and mission. Just as Jesus received the power of the Holy Spirit, we also receive the power of the Holy Spirit. So, are we really living according to the Holy Spirit’s power? Are we following where the Holy Spirit leads us? Are we being faithful to the identity and mission which we are given in Baptism? Do we believe, and do we encourage each other to believe, that we are loved and accepted by God, and that we are accepted by Him in Baptism? Do we speak with the same gentle, compassionate voice that Jesus speaks to us with? Do we see only one identity among us, that of being Christian? Do we identify with each other by acknowledging each other as children of God? Are we giving each other hope and encouragement? Do we show compassion to each other as we struggle and suffer, by showing understanding and helping and supporting each other in our struggles and sufferings? Do we show that same compassion even to others, even strangers, who are struggling and suffering? Are we listening to each other, to each other’s stories and struggles? This is what we are given power for in Baptism – the power to, as Jesus did, bring hope, healing, peace, and unity, as we are all united with Jesus and with each other in Baptism. Let us live in this power, let this be our true purpose, our true reason for being, and let this be our only true identity – we are Christians, and that is all that is important.

            Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.

Weekly Word Podcast - Full Worship Service for January 9, 2022

 

01/09/2022 Full Worship Service - The Baptism of Our Lord

LCMC Three Days of Prayer, January 4-6, 2022

This year, we are invited to join with our brothers and sisters in LCMC in participating in the Annual Three Days of Prayer, January 4-6. Along with our LCMC brothers and sisters all over the nation and world, we are encouraged to pray for:

- Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ, and all its Leaders and Pastors

- Our St. Andrew Church family

- Our Pastor, Church Council, and Staff

- All local congregations in the communities in which we live

- All our LCMC sister congregations, missions, and new church plants

- All missionaries, both at home and overseas

- Our communities, in which all our church family members reside

- Our communities' governing officials, first responders, judges, local School Board members, and all others in leadership positions in our communities

- Our schools and students

- Our President, Governor, Congress, Supreme Court, State Government, and County Government

- All the leaders of the nations of the world

- All those facing major life decisions and transitions at the beginning of this year

- All those whom we know who are currently in need of healing in mind, body, or spirit

- All those in our church family and community who have been affected by COVID in any way

- All others in need of prayer of any kind

Please also feel free to submit anyone who needs to be included on this list, who is in need of prayer of any kind.

01/02/2022 Full Worship Service

Weekly Word Podcast - Full Worship Service for January 2, 2022

 

Sermon Text for January 2, 2022 - "Have You Seen the Word?"

 “Have You Seen the Word?”

January 2, 2022

 

Dear brothers and sisters, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Happy New Year, everyone! By a show of hands, how many of you were able to stay up until midnight on Friday night to ring in the New Year? How many of you got to watch the celebration on TV? By another show of hands, how many of you were able to celebrate New Year’s Day yesterday by watching the Buckeyes beat Utah in the Rose Bowl?

Here’s yet another question: now that you’ve celebrated the beginning of this new year, what are you looking forward to in this coming year? Take a moment, as we keep spending these next few minutes together, to think about that. What are you looking forward to? Not just what are you hoping is going to happen this year, but what do you know is going to be going on? What are you going to have to deal with? What are you going to have to have resolved? What are you still going to have to deal with from this last year that’s going to be carried into this year? 

As we all look back at the last year, we see what kind of a mixed year it really was. In general, we experienced some victories. But we experienced a lot of struggle as we realized the coronavirus was here to stay, and we were going to have to keep adapting to it. We also dealt with change in other ways, whether in our personal lives, in school, in our jobs, or with our health. And we’re probably aware that this coming year is going to bring new changes and challenges all its own. Maybe as we go into this new year, especially with this only being the second day of the new year, we still remain stuck in a situation we’d been having to deal with last year, and wonder if we’re ever going to get out of it. We might even be looking forward to this coming year with a little bit of worry, as we wonder what else we might have to face.

Today, however, as we look back on the past year, and look forward to the coming year, however we may be feeling about it, we are reminded that, even though this coming year may bring, we are not alone: God remains connected to us. Even in the toughest of situations, God is still with us, and is moving us forward. Such a situation is actually taking place in today’s First Reading, in the book of Isaiah, where God, speaking through Isaiah, is talking to His people, who are stuck in a situation: they’re in exile. They’ve just been disconnected from their homeland, from life as they knew it, probably many of them from their families and friends. They are wondering if, although they’re God’s people, if they’re still connected to Him – or if He has disconnected Himself from them. We too, especially in this pandemic, have been disconnected from a lot of things, maybe even things we took for granted. But God has not disconnected from us, and we have not been disconnected from Him in any way. During the exile, God’s people were actually brought closer to Him, even as they struggled. It was their struggles that made them realize how much they really needed to be connected to God, and how much they needed to depend on Him. In the same way, if there is one important thing that has happened during this pandemic, it is that God has been showing us how much we need to depend on Him. He has been the one who has brought us through the most difficult experiences and ordeals of the whole pandemic, and He wants us to continue to stay depend on Him to bring us through whatever may be ahead in this coming year.

There is also an additional problem, one which was demonstrated all throughout the Old Testament: the fact that people kept on sinning, kept on turning away from God, and therefore kept getting disconnected from Him. In fact, because of our sin, we all deserve to be disconnected from God for all eternity, But that’s not what God wants for Him, or for us: He wants us to be connected to Him. Just as God’s people were hurt deeply by being disconnected from their homeland, it hurt Him deeply that we were disconnected from Him by sin.

            So, God promised through Isaiah, and the other prophets, that He would re-establish that connection. He would save His people, and send someone to save them because they couldn’t save themselves. Not only did He eventually bring His people back home from their exile to the land He had originally given them to live in, He provided a way for all people to be connected to Him again, by removing the separation of sin: by sending His Son to be the sacrifice for our sins, dying on the cross, removing the disconnection, and rising again to promise eternal life. In fact, that was much of the reason He came as a human being: to make God’s promises real. As John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” To literally embody the promises, to make the promises of God real in His own body, and make everything God had promised to come true, especially to save us and reconnect us to Him.

            Because Jesus came to be one of us, He remains with us. He remains connected to us. Even though it may seem like all we do from week to week is hear about Him, the whole purpose of hearing His Word is to be pointed directly to Him, to experience Him. Just as those among whom we walked two thousand years ago experienced Him in the flesh, we can experience Jesus in power here and now. He is still here with us in glory, and works His glory for us, often in unexpected ways. God also, as Isaiah prophesied, gave Him a new name: the name of Son of God, the name of Savior, the name of King. As we will talk about next week, we are connected to Him in Baptism, and so we share in many things He has now, looking forward to sharing His glory with Him in heaven. The new name, or, rather, the name we can reclaim for ourselves, is Christian, people who are connected to Christ, connected on the deepest level. We are given, as John 1:12 says, the right to call ourselves children of God. We can reclaim our true identity, those who, in being called Christian, are truly connected to Christ. Connected to Jesus. As Christians, we can experience Jesus every single day. We can also recognize any special things that happen to us as experiencing Jesus because we know Him personally, and we trust Him. Every single day of this coming year, every single day of the rest of our lives. Knowing, and experiencing, that we are connected to Jesus is going to help us get through any and every situation this year may bring. Jesus is going to remind us in many different ways this coming year that He is still with us. But the question is, are we open to experiencing Him? Are we going to try to deal with everything ourselves, are we going to try to go it alone this coming year, or are we going to let Jesus come and work His power in us? The more we are open to Jesus working His power, and working in us, the more connected to Him we’re definitely going to feel.

In fact, here’s another question for all of you: since this is also the time of year we set New Year’s resolutions, what are some ways you can think of to keep connected to Jesus? What are some things that have usually helped you keep connected to Jesus that you can do more of this coming year? Whether it’s setting aside more regular time for Bible reading, prayer, quiet time, or just simply being alone to spend time with Jesus, what are some things that can help you regularly stay connected to Jesus? Also, what are some things that have caused you to feel disconnected from Jesus, that have been harmful or hurtful for your relationship with Jesus, that you can ask for His help in removing? What has been keeping you from experiencing Jesus, experiencing His love, experiencing His care for you? Maybe you’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about a situation, about how your life should be, or just about worries in general. Maybe you’ve been struggling with a particular habit. Maybe you’ve been dwelling on problems related to a major life change. And all these things have made you think you’re having to deal with it alone, face it on your own, or maybe even that you can’t move forward. But remember – you’re not alone. Jesus is connected to you. If you ask Him for help, He will deal with, and even remove, all those things which have been causing you to think you’re alone, and you’re disconnected from Him.

As those who are connected to Jesus, we are also connected to each other. Our one common identity keeps us connected to each other. In this coming year, it’s important that, even as we keep connected to Jesus, we keep connected to each other. Feeling connected to other people, feeling connected with each other, especially with whatever challenges we may face in this coming year, is going to be one of the best and greatest ways we can get through whatever this year throws at us. 

And one of the most important ways we can keep connected to each other, as well as to Jesus, is to keep coming to worship as often as we can. That’s really the best way we can stay connected to each other this year. We can still keep coming to keep connected with each other by checking in with each other, catching up with each other, and provide encouragement and support for each other. In fact, I encourage everyone watching this video, listening to the podcast, or reading the sermon at home today: if you’re not able to make it to worship for any reason this year, especially for a long period of time, feel free to check in with any of us to let us know how you’re doing. Give any of us a call, write us a note or an email, send us a text, just to let us know how you’re doing. And, let us know if there’s anything we can do for you to help you in any way. Even if you’re not able to keep regularly connected with us physically, keep connected with us in other ways – we want to keep connected to you! 

In fact, just like with making resolutions to stay connected to Jesus this coming year, I’d also encourage all of you to think about ways you can keep connected with each other. Even though covid has changed the ways in which we communicate, and has maybe even still caused us to distance or even disconnect from family members and friends, now is a wonderful opportunity to reconnect and rekindle relationships. Now, especially in this “new normal,” we need each other more than ever before. If there have been ways you’ve wanted to reconnect with each other, or with anyone else, now is a wonderful opportunity to do so. This year can also be one where we reconnect with family members and friends, especially ones we haven’t really stayed in touch with for a while. We might even be surprised at the kind of love, help, and support we get from a family member or friend we reach out to just to catch up and say hello. We might also be surprised at the kind of love, help, and support we can provide to someone we reconnect with, in ways we don’t even expect.

This morning, we will also be celebrating one of the most important ways Jesus keeps us connected to Him, as we come forward in just a few minutes to receive Holy Communion. In Communion, Jesus will be giving us His true body and blood to eat and drink, we can experience Him and experience His power in us. Just as He came to be born as a baby in Bethlehem two thousand years ago, He still comes to us every single day, and is still with us. Communion also, as we talked about just a minute ago, keeps us connected to each other, by reminding us that as we are connected to Jesus, we are connected to each other by our connection to Him.. We ask, and we pray, as St. Paul does in today’s Second Reading from Ephesians, that we all would be given the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so we all may know Jesus better. We hope that in this coming year, we will find ways of getting to know each other better again as well, as we continue to connect and reconnect with each other. Let us make it our resolution for this coming year: to strengthen our connection with Jesus and stay connected to Him, and strengthen our connections with each other, and stay connected to each other. In this way, we can continue to experience the supportive power of Jesus, as we experience supportive connection with each other. We can not only hear about Jesus, but we can experience Him in a real way. This is something wonderful we can look forward to this coming year.

Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.