Sermons

Temptation is a reality in this life, and we face it on a daily basis in our walk of faith. The devil's purpose of temptation now with us is the same as it was with Jesus: to cause us to doubt who Jesus really is, and to doubt who we are in relationship to Him. We often con ourselves into thinking that we are entitled to indulge in temptations that come our way; that somehow the normal rules which apply to everyone else don't apply to us. For all of the temptations that we give in to, for all our sins, Jesus paid the penalty by giving his life on the cross. He now calls us to follow Him.

God called Jonah to proclaim repentance to the people of Nineveh, but the prophet ran the opposite direction. We, too, often try to run away from God's call to live as His witnesses. In this Lenten season, God calls us to follow.

After the dazzling apperance faded away, after Moses and Elijah departed, after the cloud was gone and the Voice was just a memory, what is left on the mount of Transfiguration is Jesus alone. Sometimes being alone with Jesus troubles us. We're afraid that all of our excuses and masks will be exposed, and we will be seen for what we truly are: sinful human beings who are in need of a Savior. But that is exactly what we need - a Savior! Because of Jesus' innocent suffering and death, his aloneness there on the cross of Calvary, we are assured that we will never be alone. Jesus himself is with us, even to the end of the world.

God's call comes to people who often are not ready to accept that call - witness Jeremiah in today's Old Testament lessson (Jeremiah 1:4-10). God's call to Jeremiah was not just to the house of Israel, but to the nations. God's call is often much larger and more expansive than anything we can imagine. In the Gospel lesson (Luke 4:21-30), Jesus is threatened with murder by the people of his own hometown when he, like Jeremiah, lifts up the truth that God's mission and concern is for all people, not just a select few. This is still the church's mission today - to the nations.

God's Word gives us sight in a dark world of fear and hopelessness

In the wedding feast at Cana, God reveals himself as an unexpected Messiah to an unexpected audience with unexpected grace.

Fear takes many forms in life: job, health, family. Fear robs us of the joy of living, and undermines faith and trust in God. The word of God through Isaiah to the exiled people of Judah living in Babylon was "Do not fear." Despite their fears, God promised that He would deliver and restore his people to their homeland. When Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River, He came to take our fears, and fulfill all righteousness in our behalf. Jesus came to be the new Son of Israel, passing through the waters of the Jordan, to live that sinless and perfect life we could not. When we are baptized into his death and resurrection, all that Jesus has done is given to us by his grace. We are God's children of promise and hope.

January 6 celebrates the Epiphany of Our Lord, and commemorates the coming of the wise men to worship Jesus as they offered gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Epiphany means "to show forth" or "to manifest." Jesus is shown forth and manifested not just to the house of Israel, but the Gentile world as well. The wise men, as Gentiles, represent all nations coming to worship Christ. Their gifts speak of the truth of who Jesus is: gold for a king, frankincense for God, and myrrh for the sacrifice. Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords; he is the Son of God, and his sacrifice upon the cross sets us free from sin and death.

God has chosen you in the Christ of Christmas for a purpose: He has called you in this new year, to the praise of His glory, for you have been given new life through His grace in Jesus.

For the baptized, every day can be a reboot, a new start in Christ, whose Spirit gives us the power to persevere.