Faithfully follow your Savior! (Mark 9:30-37)

October 7, 2012

Dear friends in Christ.

I don’t know why it is, but little children love to play follow the leader.  They love to walk around a play ground following behind and doing everything exactly the same as the person in the lead.  If the leader takes big steps, those following take the same type of big steps.  If the leader steps up on a tree stump and them jumps off, everyone who is following steps up on that same tree stump before jumping off.  If the leader spins in a circle three times, shouting I’m the greatest while waving his hands above his head, then everyone who is following recognizes that it is now their turn to reflect everything the leader does as they faithfully follow him around the playground.  Well, in our lesson today, we are being urged to faithfully follow our Savior.  Though we are not being asked to play follow the leader with him, we are none the less being called on to recognize his great service for us and reflect that service in our lives as we faithfully follow after Jesus Christ our Savior.

Following their Savior was something that the disciples had become quite good at over the past two or so years.  They had grown used to following Jesus wherever he led them, and they had learned a great deal from him as their teacher.  The problem, however, was that they had still had not come to recognize that Jesus’ life was not a pursuit of greatness, but rather, it was a life of service that he performed for you and me.  Take a look at how Mark records this in our lesson today!  “They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.” (Mark 9:30-32, NIV84)

Shortly before our lesson opens, Jesus had been in the region of Caesarea Philippi, about 50 miles to the Northeast from where he was now.  He had begun to plainly teach the disciples that it was necessary for him to suffer many things at the hands of the religious leaders, that he would die, and on the third day rise again.  On that occasion Peter had taken him aside and tried to convince Jesus that he didn’t really need to go through all that suffering, to which Jesus had responded, “Get behind me satan!”  As we meet Jesus and his disciples today, about 2 weeks has passed and Jesus again teaches his faithful followers that he would soon have to suffer, die, and rise again.  Though Jesus had quite likely taught the disciples this very thing over the past two weeks, take a look at the disciples response in vs. 32, “They did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.” (Mark 9:32, NIV84)

Though Jesus had explained it quite clearly, the disciples simply didn’t recognize or perhaps they simply didn’t want to recognize that Jesus’ life was not leading to a glorious earthly kingdom, but that his life had been a great act of service which he had provided for the people of the world.  His life had been a great act of service, at the end of which, he would give his life on the cross to free all people from the curse of their sins. 

But even though this was something that the disciples didn’t recognize at this point in their lives, as Jesus followers, this was something that they would come to understand and take comfort in after Jesus rose from the dead, just as we recognize it today.  For today, as we seek to follow our Savior, we do take great comfort in the fact that our Savior served us by living a perfect life on our behalf.  We recognize how Jesus served us by living the perfect life that we who have been forever tainted with sin could not live.  As we follow him, we recognize how he served us by allowing his people to make fun of him, spit on him, beat him and abuse him, reject him, and finally crucify him.  We recognize how Christ served us by enduring the excruciating weight of the countless sins of every single person in creation that were heaped upon him in that moment.  We recognize how Jesus served us by bearing in our place the full punishment of God’s righteous anger over our sins.  We recognize how Jesus served us by willingly committing his spirit to his heavenly father and dying the death that we deserved to die.  But best of all, as his followers today, we recognize and take comfort in the fact that Jesus rose again from the dead to assure us that our sins had been forgiven!  It is because of this that we who are his followers are now willing to serve him with our lives.  It is because of this that we, his followers seek to reflect his love and his service in our own lives.  It is because of this that we who seek to faithfully follow our Savior do indeed seek to reflect his service in all that we say and all that we do.

For the disciples, who were still struggling to make peace with the fact that Jesus’ mission as the Messiah was not to seek glory and greatness for himself, or to seek to establish an earthly kingdom, the idea the idea of reflecting Christ’s service in their lives was still a foreign concept.  It was still a foreign concept because they were still convinced that by following Jesus they would become his right hand men in his earthly kingdom.  This is why, as Mark tells us, the disciples argued along the way about who was the greatest.  Take a look at Mark 9 starting at verse 33: “They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:33-37, NIV84)

Though the disciples were willing to faithfully follow their Savior, at this point they did not yet understand that following him was not about who was the greatest, but about serving him with their lives.  Unfortunately, this is something that even we faithful followers of Jesus Christ still have trouble with today.  For even though we know that a Christian life is a life of service, so often we would rather seek our own glory and greatness, however, when we are reminded of all that Christ did for us, it becomes that much easier for us to live our lives in such a way that we reflect our Savior’s service in all that we do!

For the truth is, when we faithfully follow our Savior and remember all that he did for us, we are naturally moved to serve him in all that we say and all that we do.  We are moved to serve him by gathering regularly for worship.  We are moved to serve him by gathering together to study his Word with our fellow Christians.  We are moved to reflect his love for us as we care for the needs of friends, family, neighbors, and even strangers.  We are moved to serve him by fighting against the sinful desires that affect us on a daily basis.  So do just that!  Let your love for Christ reflect in all that you say and do.  Let your lives as followers of Jesus be a reflection of the life of service that he undertook to free you from your sins.  Serve the Lord by giving to him not only the first and best of what he has give to you, but also of yourselves.  Serve the Lord by getting involved in your own congregation.  Serve the Lord by participating in worship.  Serve the Lord by serving your neighbor.  Serve the Lord by telling others about Jesus their Savior.  Serve the Lord by giving to him of your time, of your talents, of your effort, and of your attention. 

These are but a few of the ways that we can reflect our Savior’s service in our own lives as we follow him.  For we who are his followers today do indeed seek to follow just like children follow each other as they play follow the leader.  Though our Savior does not take us on crazy circuitous routes through a playground, as we follow him we easily recognize the great service he accomplished for each and every one of us, and we, as his followers seek to reflect that service through every aspect of our lives.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

As for Me and My Household, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:14-15)

Series: What I'd Like to Know Is… (6/6)

September 2, 2012

Dear friends in Christ.

On October 11, 1987, my Grandfather, Edwin Breiling, died.  Only a few days before he had been working in his yard, hanging storm windows in preparation for the coming winter, when he collapsed.  He collapsed because an aortal aneurism had ruptured while he was doing his work.  I remember when we got the news that Grandpa had collapsed and that he had been moved to the Hospital in La Crosse.  I remember my parents traveling to La Crosse to help Grandma, and I remember them coming back on Sunday afternoon and giving us the news that Grandpa had gone home to be with the Lord.  I was 15 that day.  I was a freshman in high school and even though I had been to a number of funerals in my young life, this was the first time I had felt the sharp sting of death so personally.  I can still remember the trip to Wisconsin, gathering in the funeral home with the family, sitting and listening to the words of comfort that the Pastor gave before everyone came to pay their respects. 

But out of all of these things, the clearest memory I have is sitting in church and hearing the very words of our lesson today being used as my Grandfather’s funeral sermon.  You see, Edwin Breiling was a Pastor who had served the Lord faithfully for over 40 years, and his final words to his congregation were the very words of our lesson today, “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”" (Joshua 24:14–15, NIV84)  Through the pastor who conducted his funeral service, Pastor Edwin Breiling stood before his congregation one last time.  He stood before his congregation as Joshua stood before the Israelites in Shechem.  Grandpa stood before his congregation and told them, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

“As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  As Christians, these words are very important to us.  Many of us have them prominently displayed in our homes in one form or another.  My son has these words on a sticker which he has attached to the inside of one of his school folders, and I have a framed copy of these words hanging on the wall in my office. These words are very important to us as Christians because they so clearly convey our desire to be like Joshua.  They clearly convey our desire to stand firm in the teachings of the Lord.  They clearly convey our desire to stand against idolatry and unbelief, and to choose to serve the Lord with our lives.  Even if everybody around us should forsake the Lord, as Christians we long to cry out with Joshua, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Now, the interesting thing about these words is the situation in which they were given.  You see, when Joshua spoke the words of our lesson today, he was very near the end of his life.  He had led the Israelites for many years, and under his leadership the Lord had subdued the nations before them, and they had conquered the majority of the Promised Land.  Though there were still areas of Canaan to be conquered, by the time that Joshua spoke these words, the land had already been divided among the tribes.  The people were living in cities and homes that they had not built.  They were eating the fruit of vineyards that they had not planted.  They were enjoying the blessings of the good land that the Lord had given them, and they and the land were at rest.

So, Joshua gathered all the people of Israel at Shechem, which was the perfect place to cast out idolatry and renew the Lord’s Covenant.  It was the perfect place because Shechem was the place where Abraham essentially got rid of all the gods his forefathers had served and served the Lord.  It was there at Shechem that Abraham built an altar to the Lord, which was the first altar to the Lord in the heathen land of Canaan, and worshiped the Lord who had chosen him by grace and promised him that his descendants would one day possess the Land of Canaan.  (Genesis 12:1-9).  It was there at Shechem, where all the Israelites had gathered, that each Israelite could look around and they could see the reality of that promise come to fruition.  Not only that, but Shechem was the place where Jacob settled after returning from his 20 years of service to his Uncle Laban (Genesis 33:18-20).  It was at Shechem that he bought the plot of ground where he pitched his tent.  It was at Shechem that Jacob called on all his family to get rid of any foreign gods and idols that they had with them, and they buried them under an Oak tree. (Genesis 35:1-5)  It was also from Shechem where Joseph had been sold into slavery by his brothers, thus beginning the movement of Israel to Egypt and ultimately their own years of slavery.  So, as Joshua gathered the people at Shechem, in many ways it marked for them a home coming.  It marked for them the ending of the chapters of slavery and wandering in the desert, as well as the beginning of a new nation under the blessing of the Lord.  So, there at Shechem, a place filled with so much history for the Israelites, that Joshua reminded them of the Lord’s great blessings to them and then challenged them, saying: “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”" (Joshua 24:14–15, NIV84)

“As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  For Joshua it was very clear what his choice was.  No matter what any other Israelite would choose, Joshua’s choice for himself and for his family was that they would serve the Lord.  This was the same choice that my Grandfather made!  As for him and for his household, they would serve the Lord!  But this was not a choice made hastily or declared as an ultimatum at his funeral.  No, this was something that he displayed with his life.  Because he was the spiritual leader of his house, he taught his three daughters the truths of God’s Word, and to this day his daughters serve the Lord with their lives.  Those three daughters sought for themselves men who loved the Lord and men who served the Lord with every aspect of their lives, and together, with these men, they each started families that serve the Lord.  In each of these families the children were taught the precious truths of God’s Word.  Each family grew together in faith by gathering in church and worshiping the Lord on a weekly basis.  Each family lived their faith in word and actions.  Whether it was stated or not, each one of those families adopted Joshua’s declaration as their own, demonstrating by their words and actions that regardless of what others did, they would serve the Lord.  From those three daughters came eight grandchildren, and I know for sure that seven of the eight of those grandchildren live to serve the Lord. And even though I’ve personally lost contact with one of them I believe that she too lives her life in service to the Lord.  From those eight grandchildren, four are married and have brought five great-grandchildren into the world so far.  These five great-grandchildren are already being taught the faith of their great-grandfather.  They are already being taught the faith-walk of a Christian’s life, the importance of growing in the Word of God, and the strengthening of faith that comes from gathering for worship on a weekly basis.  All because a man named Edwin Breiling faithfully served the Lord and taught his household to do the same, nearly 25 years after the Lord called him home to heaven, it can still be said that he and his household are serving the Lord.

“As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  Can these words be said about you?  Absolutely!  It doesn’t matter what your family history might be.  It doesn’t matter if you are the first in your family to come to faith in the Lord or you are one in a longer line than I have displayed today.  It doesn’t matter because today, as we have gathered in worship, we have gathered before the Lord at Shechem with Joshua and the Israelites.  Today, we have Joshua calling on each and every one of us to throw away the false gods that our forefathers worshiped, and that we too have worshiped, and serve the Lord.  Today, the Lord is calling on each and every one of us to cast out whatever false gods and idols we’ve been carrying around in our hearts; false gods that have sought to replace the true god and who have, at times, succeeded at replacing him.  But what gods are you still carrying with you today?  Has greed become a god that rules your life?  Have you sat at the altar of selfishness and worshiped there for long periods of time?  Has pleasure filled your heat with the joys of this world and crowded out the joy of the True God.  Has obstinacy become your god as you refuse to heed the Word of the Lord that you learned as little children?  Have you given over to sexual indulgence, worldly wisdom, secularism, hedonism, consumerism, instant gratification, addiction, anger, frustration, or any other gods to claim your heart?  Have you allowed anyone or anything to take over God’s place in your heart?  We all have, this is why Joshua is calling each and every one of us to, “Fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:14, NIV84)

So, dear friends, let us all throw away these gods which seek to claim our heats by confessing them to the Lord in our hearts.  Take time during the offering to confess them to the Lord.  Take time during the silent prayer to confess them.  Take time after worship when you are at home and alone to write them down and confess them to the Lord. Then, when you have confessed them crumble up the sheet of paper, send it through the paper shredder, burn it on the grill before cooking your favorite meal, and live in the Lord’s forgiveness, and serve the Lord with your lives.  For you know that it is Jesus, your Savior who forgives all your sins.  You know it is Jesus, your Savior, who purifies your hearts so that you can grow in your faith and so that you can serve the Lord with your lives.  It is Jesus, your Savior, who moves your heart to action so that you begin to live your faith in the things you say and the things that you do. 

So, today, heed the words of Joshua and fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness.  No matter what age you might be, no matter what your family situation might be, no matter how well you might have served the Lord to this point, serve the Lord by growing in your faith.  Make the Lord and his Word the highest priority of your life.  Grow in your faith through worship and Bible study, and as you do, you will be seen as someone who does indeed serve the Lord with your life.  Your children will see your example, and no matter what age they might be, they will see the importance of serving the Lord with their lives as you are serving the Lord with your life.  It may happen quickly, and it may happen slowly.  It may even happen so slowly that you cannot perceive it, and in some cases it might take your funeral until your children understand the importance of serving the Lord with their lives.  But regardless of the time it takes, today is the day for you to make the choice to continue serving the Lord with your lives, and making that choice you can say with Joshua, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

“As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  Since 1987 these words have resonated with me in a way that I never expected.  I can only thank God for the faithfulness of a man named Edwin Breiling who faithfully lived for the Lord and taught his family to do the say.  I pray that the Lord would continue to allow me to do the same so that my family might continue to learn as his family did.  I pray also that the Lord would bless you through his Word that each of you might live faithfully for the Lord as well, teaching your families to do the same, so that we might all grow in God’s Grace declaring with Joshua, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

Praise Your Savior for His Appearing (Job 19:23-27; Isaiah 42:1-7; Matthew 3:13-17)

January 16, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

So how have you enjoyed this first week of Exploring God’s Islands of Adventure? Have you jumped right in and read or listened to the Word of God as you planned? Did you face any time thieves this week and find that you hadn’t accomplished all the reading you planned on? Or are you still undecided as to which plan you are going to follow? Well, if you are still undecided as to which plan to follow, I hope I’ve made it easier by including in the bulletin the chronological schedule that I’m using for our weekly Bible Study and worship. If you’ve faced time thieves this week, you’re not alone, the same thing happened to me on Tuesday! Suddenly it was Wednesday and I realized I had not read my Bible the day before. If you’ve accomplished your reading exactly as you planed this week, then good for you! In fact, my congratulations to all of you who read or listened to even the slightest little bit this week, and my encouragement to those of you who haven’t yet begun! I say this because the truth is whenever you make a decision to change and grow in any way; you suddenly have a struggle on your hands—especially when you make the decision to read the word and grow in your faith.

Yet, as I said last week, I so badly want each and every one of you to be reading or listening to the Bible this year, because when you do, you will grow in your faith and your knowledge of Jesus Christ as your Savior. As you grow in your faith and your knowledge we will grow together as an even more closely knit family of believers. In fact, just think about how your faith would grow if you were in the word for an entire week. Just think about how your life would change for the better, how your faith would grow, and how you would walk with confidence in your salvation if you were in the word of God for an entire month. Just think about how your live would change for the better, how your faith would grow and be as strong as steel, how you would walk with absolute confidence in the knowledge of your salvation through faith in Jesus, and how you would be constantly, passionately ready to share the comfort of God’s Word with those who were hurting, and share your faith with those who do not yet know the Lord Jesus as their Savior if you just spent the next year reading or listening to God’s Word for yourselves.

This is the growth that I long for, for you. As I said last week, I’ve spent the last six months reading this schedule so that I could stay ahead of you and share with you the beautiful truths I’ve found. Yet, while I keep reading to stay ahead of you, I’m also starting over at the beginning so that I can read with you and share with you the beautiful truths and amazing connections that I’ve discovered, while at the same time learning from you through the insights you will be placing on the navigation board in this next year. In fact, today, I want to share with you an amazing connection that I discovered. It is a connection between some of the words that Job speaks in chapter 19, which is part of the scheduled reading for today, and two of the lessons that I’ve already read as part of our worship today. It is a connection that will lead us to Praise the Lord our Savior as we celebrate his appearing at his baptism today.

I invite you to open your Bibles to Job 19:23-27. As you are turning to Job 19, let me give you a little background. Though we’re not exactly certain when Job lived, our best guess is that he lived around the time of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). This is why we read only the first 11 chapters of Genesis and then jumped right into Job. Now, the book of Job is an interesting book. In fact, it has been said that without the first two chapters none of the book would make sense, and yet, as we read through it, we see a believer dealing with some of the most horrendous hardships, frustration, sickness, and accusations that friends could bring against him. As we read through the book of Job, we see Job proclaiming the same frustration and anger that we all have directed at God or others when we’ve faced difficulties, hospital stays, life threatening illnesses, financial ruin or any other hardship. Though there are times that Job blames God for all his troubles and God confronts him at the end of the book, Job never lost his faith and the Lord always counted Job as his child. Even in the midst of his pain and anguish the Lord allowed Job to praise the Lord his Savior because Job knew that one day his Savior would appear. Take a look at Job 19:23: “Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, 24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock forever! 25 I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:23–27, NIV84)

In the midst of struggle and hardship, pain and anguish, Job utters such beautiful words of praise for the Lord his Savior whom he knows will one day appear. He utters words of praise that Christians have sung since they were written in hymn form by Samuel Medley in 1775. He utters words of praise that I have used as the closing of my grave side service since the day I heard the pastor under whom I served as a bishop speak them as the close of his grave side service. Thus, we these words, Job reminds us and assures us that no matter what we face in this life, no matter what struggles or hardships we might have, even if we should lose our health or our ability to work, even if gas should make it to $4.00 a gallon as is being predicted; no matter what might come our way, we can still give praise and thanks to the Lord Jesus, our Savior, as we celebrate his appearing today. We can praise our Lord and Savior because we know that when he appeared here on earth, he came as the Lord’s servant, just as Isaiah told us in our first lesson today.

Turn with me now, if you would, to Isaiah 42 and we’ll see how verses 1-7 connect with what we just heard from Job. Now, as you are turning to Isaiah 42, let me give you the setting. At least 2000 years have passed since the days of Job. Israel has been living in the Promised Land for roughly 700 years and there were roughly 700 years remaining before the Savior would be born. Now, as Isaiah speaks the words in chapter 42, the complete destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel is close at hand. Yet, even in the midst of pending destruction on the Northern Kingdom and rampant unbelief that Isaiah faced in the Southern Kingdom, the Lord gave Isaiah a beautiful message for those who still believed. The Lord gave Isaiah a message that would lead believers to praise the Lord their Savior for the promise of his appearing. Take a look at what Isaiah writes in chapter 42 beginning with verse 1: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. 2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. 3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.” 5 This is what God the LORD says— he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: 6 “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. (Isaiah 42:1–7, NIV84)

As Isaiah speaks these words, he gives us, and the faithful Israelites of his day every reason to praise the Lord Jesus at his appearing, because from these words we learn exactly what our Savior will do and has done for us. As Isaiah said in verse 3-4: “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope.” (Isaiah 42:3-4, NIV84) In other words, when the Savior appears, if someone is dealing with the bruises of doubt in their faith, or if someone is so weak that the flame of their faith is but a smoldering wick, Jesus will build them up and strengthen that faith through his comforting word. As he preaches he will proclaim the truth of salvation to his people and through that message he will establish his justice and his forgiveness. In fact, it will be in that message of salvation that the Islands—the gentiles like you and me—will put our hope.

Well, just as Isaiah prophesied, Jesus appeared and did all these things and even more. Jesus appeared to proclaim the message of salvation to us. Jesus appeared to be our Savior and free us from the curse of our sins. Jesus appeared to give his life in our place so that we might live eternally with him in his heavenly kingdom. Jesus appeared just as was promised throughout the ages and that is why we have gathered to give praise to the Lord our Savior as we celebrate his appearing today. We have gathered to give praise to our Savior because he appeared just as Job hoped and just as Isaiah prophesied. He appeared as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, just as Matthew records for us in our gospel lesson for today.

Turn with me, if you would, to our final lesson for today. Turn to Matthew 3:13-17, and we’ll take a look at how our lesson from Job and Isaiah connect to our Savior’s appearing at his baptism today. Now, as you are turning to Matthew 3 the stage has already been set for Jesus appearing at the beginning of his earthly ministry. In fact, if you take a look at the first three chapters of Matthew you can see just how he set the stage for us. He told us about the genealogy of Christ, showing that he was a descendant of David as the Lord promised. He told us about Jesus birth in Bethlehem and the visit of the Magi. He told us how Jesus escaped to Egypt and then returned to Nazareth in fulfillment of the Lord’s promise that he would call his Son out of Egypt, and now at the beginning of Chapter 3, Matthew tells us about John and how John was preparing the way for the Savior, proclaiming the Word of God and baptizing people in the Jordan River. Now, on one day while John was baptizing, Jesus appeared there at the river, coming to be baptized. Take a look at Matthew 3:13: 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13–17, NIV84)

As hoped for by Job, as prophesied by Isaiah, Jesus appeared to his people Israel when the time was right. He appeared at the Jordan river and was baptized by John to mark him, anoint him, if you will, as one of us. Thus, his baptism was the beginning of his earthly ministry and the time when Jesus actively began his work of living a perfect life in our place even as he preached God’s Word. It was on that day that the Father gave approval to his Son so that all present would know that this Jesus who had suddenly appeared among them was the Lord and Savior for whom they had waited. He was the one whom John had spoken about, whom Isaiah prophesied, and for whom Job had hoped.

This is our Lord and Savior whom we praise today! We praise him that he appeared for us just as he promised. We praise him because he freed us from our sins by his death and resurrection. We praise him because we know that through faith in him eternal life is ours. We praise him because we know that one day he will return again. Just as Job said, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25–27, NIV84)

What an amazing reason for us to praise the Lord our Savior as we celebrate his appearing today! What an amazing connection between the words of Job, Isaiah, and Matthew! What an amazing thing that we have discovered them simply because we are exploring God’s Islands of Adventure together! May the Lord bless you in the coming week as you continue your reading of his Word for the strengthening of your faith and our growth together as a family of believers.


Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church --Le Sueur, MN

Rejoice and Be Glad Because You Are Blessed! (Matthew 5:3-12)

November 21, 2010

Dear friends in Christ.

For the past seven weeks we’ve taken time to talk about Christ’s love for us and our calling to serve him. We’ve been amazed by our Savior’s love for us. We’ve talked about how important it is for us to seek time with our God, with our family, with our fellow believers, and even with our neighbors who may or may not yet know the Salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today, as we come to the end of our stewardship emphasis on time, we take time to remind ourselves of all the reasons that we have to rejoice and be glad in the Lord, because the Lord our God has truly blessed us. We take time to remind ourselves that every since we have committed ourselves to Christ, through faith, no matter what we have faced in this life, we have been blessed by the Lord in one way, or another,

In fact, if we really stop to think about it, each and every one of us would have to admit that we had every reason to rejoice and be glad in the Lord our God, because we have been blessed in every way imaginable. Though we may not always feel blessed, or feel that we may not have been as blessed as this person or that person, we know that through faith in Jesus we can rejoice because we are truly blessed. Though we may not feel like the blessings of our Savior are flowing into our lives as freely or as quickly as we might expect, we can take comfort and rejoice, because we know that since we have committed ourselves to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, he has blessed us and he will continue to bless us each and every day of our lives. In fact, I invite you to join me in taking a closer look at the blessings our Savior pronounces on us in our lesson today. Turn with me, if you would, to our Gospel Lesson, Matthew 5:3-12. Now, in Matthew 5:3-12 Jesus was at the high point of his earthly ministry. About 18 months had passed since Jesus had been baptized in the Jordan, beginning the public phase of his earthly ministry, and he had spent the last six months or so, preaching and teaching to the people of Galilee. Now as he sat on the side of that mountain, he had just recently named his 12 disciples, those men whom he would send out into the world as apostles about 18 months from this day. And now, as he sat before that group of disciples who had come to hear what he had to say, Jesus was giving them every reason to rejoice and be glad. For as Jesus spoke to them, he assured them that they truly had been blessed!

Take a look at what Jesus is say in beginning in Matthew 5:3: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:3-12)

Could there be any greater words of encouragement and assurance for Jesus to give his disciples on that day! Though he did not assure them of the forgiveness of sins or the fact that eternal life in heaven was theirs through faith in him, he gave his disciples great comfort in the words he spoke. For as Jesus sat before this group of people, he knew that he was sitting before a group of his disciplespeople who had come to hear what Jesus had to say because they knew that Jesus was truly the Messiah. They knew that he was the Savior who had been promised for long generations. They knew that he was the one who had come to free them from their sins, and now as they had gathered on the side of the mountain to hear what Jesus had to say, he encouraged them and assured them that they could rejoice! He assured them that they could rejoice because no matter what situation they faced in their lives, they would, indeed, be blessed! Whether they enjoyed a simple, quiet life as Jesus disciples, or they faced persecution, heartache, troubles and pain, their Savior, promised that they would truly be blessed!

Well, Jesus is telling us the same thing today! For as we have heard these words spoken to us, it is as if we are on that very mountainside and Jesus is sitting before us assuring us that we have been blessed. It’s as if Jesus, himself, is sitting before us and telling us to rejoice and be glad because we can be confident that we will be blessed by our Lord no matter what situation we might face in our lives. For as we have sat here, this morning, listening to the words that Jesus has spoken, it is as if we are that group of disciples who followed him to the mountain side. It is as if we are the ones who have been waiting all our lives for the Savior to appear, and now that we’ve found him we have come to hear every word he has to say. Though we have not been reminded of our sins or specifically called on to repent in this sermon today, we were reminded of our every sin as we confessed them at the beginning of our worship today. Though we have not been specifically assured that our sins have been forgiven, we were assured of that fact as we heard the words of absolution and, very shortly, we will receive tangible assurance that Jesus has forgiven us as we receive his Body and Blood in the Sacrament.

But now, as we sit at Jesus’ feet, listening to the words he is speaking today, Jesus is speaking directly to our Christian Nature—our New Self. He is speaking directly to that part of us that only delights in God’s will and longs to obey his commandments. He is speaking to us as his disciples who trust in him and telling us, “When you are poor in spirit because you are sorrowing over your sins, do not be downcast, but be assured that the kingdom of heaven belongs to you! When you are in mourning because a loved one has died, when you are facing financial difficulties, when you have become bedridden, when you cannot venture out into the world because of the snow or ice, or you are facing the realities of a terminal disease, remain hopeful, because you will be comforted. I myself will comfort you with the comfort I received from my heavenly Father. I will comfort you and uphold you and strengthen you in your faith. When you hungering and thirsting for my righteousness, you will be filled. When you are ridiculed and mocked, insulted and persecuted for what you believe, take heart, because through faith in me, heaven is already yours!”

This is why we can rejoice and be glad today, because Jesus has assured us that we will be blessed in any and every situation in our lives. For he has told us that the meek, the humble, the unassuming, those who daily go about their work with no thought of recognition, they will inherit the earth. They will be recognized. They will be thanked. They will be rewarded. They will be blessed. He has told us that those who are merciful, who are kind and compassionate, they too will receive mercymercy both from their Father in heaven, as well as the people of the world. He has told us that those who are pure in heart through faith in Jesus Christ, they will see God. They will see him face to face. They will live with him forever in heaven, and they will know him in the same way that you and I know each other. He has told us that those who are the peace makersthose who are willing to be the first to make peace when an argument has broken out, those who seek to keep the unity of peace and of the Holy Spirit in the Church, in their families, and in their livesthey will be called the sons of God. They will be named as God’s children who look forward to the inheritance that their Father offerseternal life with him forever in heaven.

What greater assurance and encouragement could our Savior give us today! For with these words, we know that we have every reason to rejoice and be glad! From these words he has spoken today, we know that we will be blessed no matter what situation we might face in our lives. This is why we have gathered here, to rejoice and be glad! Though this may be the ending of seven weeks of emphasizing our need to be stewards of our time, I pray that you have been built up and strengthened through it. I pray that you have learned or even re-learned the importance of using our time to serve the Lord, sit at his feet, and grow in his Word. I pray that you have been reminded of just how important it is for us to spend time with our friends, family, neighbors, loved ones, and fellow believers, and I pray that you have been reminded of why you too can rejoice. For, as Christians, who have committed ourselves to Christ Jesus our Savior, we have every reason to rejoice and be glad, because we have indeed been blessed by the Lord our God in every way imaginable! He has given us everything that we have, he has forgiven our sins, and he has given us the gift of eternal life by his side forever. What greater joy could we take with us today that that!

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN

Make the Most of Your Time of Grace (Philippians 1:18-27)

November 14, 2010

Dear friends in Christ.

What would you want to do if you knew that you only had 6 more months to live? Now, I know, I asked you a very similar question about 3 weeks ago, and yet once again, this question here it is. What would you want to do if you knew you only had 6 months left to live? Would you want to travel and see sights that you had never seen before? Would you immerse yourself in projects and activities, volunteering your time and your energy to help others who were worse off than you? Would you wake up each and every morning thankful for one more day in which you could make the most of your remaining time, or would you simply roll over, pull the covers over your head, and wait for the end? I think it’s safe to say that if it every happened that we received the news of a severely limited life-span, each and every one of us would be moved to make the most of our remaining months on the earth. Well, in many ways, this is exactly what the Apostle Paul is calling on each and every one of us to do today. Though he may not be calling on us to make the most of our remaining time here on earth, he is clearly calling on us to make the most of our time of grace. In fact, I invite you to open your Bibles with me to Philippians 1:18. Now, when Paul wrote these verses in Philippians 1, he was sitting in prison. He was, as he said, in chains for the gospel, yet even as he wrote he expressed his great joy because he was making the most of his time of grace. He had invested his life in Jesus Christ his Savior, and through his witness, some of the guards who were guarding him had come to faith in Jesus as their Savior. Take a look at what Paul writes beginning with verse 18: “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. (Philippians 1:18–20, NIV)

Now, if there were ever a man who made the most of his time of grace here on earth, I would say that it would have to be the Apostle Paul. Even though he had started out as a Pharisee and a persecutor of the Church, when the Lord called him to faith, he made the most of his time of grace by investing everything he had into his life for Christ. Wherever he went, he preached the gospel and told about the Savior. Whenever he was whipped, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, arrested, imprisoned, and otherwise abused, he continued to tell others about Jesus, the Messiah, who had come into the world to free all people from their sins, by his death and resurrection from the dead. Even now, as Paul was preparing to stand before Caesar and his court, he was looking forward to giving glory and honor to Christ his Savior through his proclamation of the Gospel, even if it should end up that he was found guilty and condemned to death. In this way, Paul made the most of his time of grace, for as he invested his life in Jesus Christ his Savior, he was looking forward to the return on his investment, the reward, the profit, the gain of eternal life in heaven. Take a look again at what Paul write in verses 18-26: “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.” (Philippians 1:18–26, NIV)

As Paul writes from prison, he is both looking forward to the reward of eternal life with his Savior, and looking back at how he has spent his time of grace investing his life in the service of preaching the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ his Savior. Though he longed cash in that investment and finally gain the return of eternal life, he knew that his time of grace had not yet come to an end. He knew that the Lord had more investments for him to make, more labor to perform, more time that needed to be spent in this life serving those brothers and sisters who had come to faith and seeking out those who still did not know their Savior. And now, as Paul closes this section of our text, he calls on you and me to do the same and make the most of our time of grace, as he writes in verse 27: “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel (Philippians 1:27, NIV)

In such a simple way, Paul calls on each and every one of us to follow his example, and make the most of the time of grace our Savior has given us. He calls on each and every one of us to put our faith into action, investing our lives in Christ our Savior, as we share our faith with friends, family, acquaintances, and strangers—people who already know Jesus as their Savior as well as people who do not yet know of what he did to free them from their sins. In short he is calling on us to preach Christ with our lives so that people may see those good deeds that naturally flow out of our faith and give praise and glory to God, our Father, in heaven.

But how do we do that? How do we make the most of our time of grace? How do we invest our lives in Christ our Savior and live in a way that is worthy of the Gospel? Simple, we become managers, Christian Stewards of the Gospel which the Lord has given us. We take the time, as so many of us have done, to read, to listen, and to study our Bibles so that our faith continues to grow stronger. We commit ourselves to gathering regularly for worship so that as we give glory to our God we are also built up in our knowledge and understanding of our Lord. We recognize the importance of bringing our children to Sunday school and using that opportunity to gather with fellow believers and study the Bible together, and in this way strengthen and build each other up as we contend as one for the faith of the gospel. Then, when we have filled ourselves with the gospel, we take it with us into the world. We take it with us as we open our mouths to tell others about the faith that we have. We take it with us, as we open our mouths to answer the questions that others ask about our faith and the hope of eternal life that we have. We take it with us and we bring glory to God as we take time to bow our heads and give thanks for the food we are about to eat, even in the midst of a crowded restaurant. We take it with us and show that we are God’s children by the words and the actions we use while working, playing, laughing or crying, and in this way we make the most of our time of grace here on earth as we bring glory to our Savior and our God.

It is in this way that we serve as Christian stewards, investing our lives in Christ, looking forward to the eternal rewards of heaven, and making the most of our time of grace here in this world. Yet, there are times in our lives, when things simply do not go as well as we would like. There are times when it seems that the economy of our lives changes from good to bad as troubles and hardships enter into the picture. But even though there may be times when we seem to face a down-turn in our investment as sickness and sufferings enter into the picture; these are nothing less than blessings God uses to draw us closer to him. Though there may be times when we feel we are receiving negative-returns as chronic illness, debilitating pain, or seemingly endless medical attention is needed, these are nothing less than the lenses our God uses to refocus our faith on him so that we might bring him glory and honor and praise through our life and even, if he should require it, through our death! This is why the Lord has allowed the most intelligent of his followers to succumb to Alzheimer’s. This is why the Lord has allowed the strongest of his people to face Arthritis, Cancer, Dementia, and Parkinson’s. This is why the Lord has suddenly taken the life of babies, young children, teens and even young adults. He does it to remind us that our time of grace on earth is short, and we need to make the most of it now, as we serve him. He does it so that the rest of his people might see the faith and the life of his followers as they endure these hardships, sufferings, and diseases, and be strengthened by the faith of those who have been afflicted. He does it to give us the opportunity to approach his throne of heavenly grace for our friends, our loved ones, and even ourselves when we face afflictions like these. He does it so that no matter what, his name will be glorified by our life or by our death. Just as Paul wrote in verse 21: “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21)

What greater comfort could there be than the comfort of knowing that if we should live, we would be living to glorify our Savior and if we should die it would be great gain as we gained eternal life! How comforting it is to know that no matter what we face, be it life or death, we will be the victors! So then, since it is true that we will be the victors whether we live or whether we die, let us make the most of our time of grace by serving the Lord our God. Let us be managers, Christian Stewards, of God’s gift of his Word. Let us go out from here and proclaim the message of salvation with all those around us so that they also might look forward to the great return on a life invested in Christ. Let us not grow weary or complacent, pulling the covers over our heads to wait for the end to come. But let us always be like those who make the most of every day they have left as we make the most of the time of grace our Lord has given us.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN

How Great is the Love the Father Has Lavished on Us! (1 John 3:1-2)

October 31, 2010

Dear friends in Christ.

This morning I’d like to begin with a question. It’s a question that most of you have probably never been asked. It’s a question that many of you may not be ready to answer. It’s a question that some of you may not even be certain of how to answer. Yet it is a question that I submit to you for your consideration as we begin this morning, and my question is this: “What is your love language?” What is your love language? In other words, how is it that you express love to your spouse, or your children? How is it that you feel loved or receive love from your spouse, or your children? For most people, this is a question that they have never considered. For most people, this is a concept that they have never explored. Though each of us naturally expresses our love in a specific way, when it comes to feeling loved, or receiving love, our spouse and even our children might be used to receiving love in a different way than we are used to expressing it. It is because of this that Dr. Gary Chapman wrote his New York Times Best Selling book entitled, The Five Love Languages. In his book—which I began using in my pre-marriage classes about 4 years ago, and which I recommend to everyone—Dr. Chapman clearly tells readers that “We must be willing to learn our spouse’s primary love language if we are to be effective communicators of love.” [Chapman, Gary. The Five Love Languages. (13) Chicago: Northfield Publishing (2004).] In fact, Dr. Chapman’s conclusion, after 30 years of marriage counseling is that there are basically five emotional love languages—five ways that people speak and understand emotional love. These five ways, according to Dr. Chapman, are: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch.

However, the problem is that it sometimes happens in a marital relationship that two people who love each other have difficulty showing it. They have difficulty showing their love to each other simply because they are speaking completely different love languages. For example, I am good friends with a couple who struggled with this very thing. Though the husband regularly showed his love to his wife with acts of service, such as keeping the yard beautifully mowed, raked, and the driveway shoveled, as well as by keeping the car clean and well serviced, all she really wanted was a little quality time with her husband where the two of them could sit and talk over coffee, or even just five minutes on the sofa without the kids around. (No, this is not Laura and me, this is an actual couple I know.) They struggled with showing love and feeling love until they finally understood their spouse’s primary love language. Though they have yet to perfectly master this concept, since they learned it they have grown closer to each other, they are better at sharing their love and receiving it, and their relationship has greatly improved because of it.

Thus, Dr. Chapman’s words that we must be willing to learn our spouse’s primary love language if we are to be effective communicators of love, continue to ring true, even in our lives. But even though we may need to take some time to learn our spouse’s primary love language, the Lord our God is already an expert at speaking to us with our primary love language! Even before we were born, the Lord knew exactly how he needed to communicate his love to us, and to this day he continues to communicate his love to us in the very way that we need to hear it. In fact, let’s take a look, together, at our lesson for today and see just how the Lord our God continues to do this. Turn with me, if you would, to 1 John 3:1-2. Now, as your turning to 1 John 3:1-2, let me give you a little back ground. The year was somewhere between 85 and 95 AD, we really don’t know for sure. But we do know that when John wrote this letter, he was the only Apostle who was still alive. He was the only Apostle who was not murdered for his faith, but died a natural death at a good, old age. Now, as the First Century was coming to a close, John wrote this letter to assure the second and third generation of Christians of the great love that the Lord had lavished upon them. Take a look at what John writes in 1 John 3, “1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:1–2, NIV)

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” Could there be any greater Words of Affirmation for us, anywhere in the Bible! How great is the Love the Father has lavished upon us that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are! We are the children of God because God the Father has lavished his love on us! Though we had been his enemies! God made us his friends! Though we were born as spiritual orphans, not knowing the Lord God our true Father, he showered his love upon us by making us his children. In fact, here is a passage you may want to write down and look up later. Galatians 3:26-29: “26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:26–29, NIV) Or how about this one! Ephesians 2:4-7: “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4–7, NIV)

What greater Words of Affirmation could there be for us to hear today that the words that John gives us when he says in 1 John 3:1 “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” This is what the Lord our God made us! This is the gift that the Lord our God bestowed upon us! For it is through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior that we have Received the Gift of the forgiveness of sins! No longer do we need to fear punishment for our sins, or eternal suffering because we cannot please God by our actions, because Jesus has blessed us with the gift of the forgiveness of sins. We have Received the Gift of Adoption, through which we have become children of our heaven Father. We have received the gifts of Salvation and Eternal life, all because the Father has lavished his great love upon us. Look with me, once again, at the two beautiful verses of our lesson today. In fact, if you have your Bibles open, read it with me: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:1–2, NIV)

Nearly 1000 years before Christ was even born, King David spoke about these gifts in Psalm 16:11. In fact, if you go home and read the whole Psalm you will see that with these Words King David was prophesying about the coming Savior. In fact, Peter even quoted these words in his Pentecost sermon in Acts 2:24 and following: But it was in Psalm 16:11 where David said, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Psalm 16:11, NIV) Paul spoke about the gift of the Spirit that we received in Romans 8:15-17: “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Romans 8:15–17, NIV) And again in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9, NIV)

How great is the love the Father has lavished upon us that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are! In his great love for us, our Savior did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28) Jesus himself told us that God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son that whoever should believe in him would not perish, but would have eternal life. (John 3:16) Even John tells us in the very next chapter, in 1 John 4:9-10, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:9–10, NIV)

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” Though the world in which we live does not know us or even understand the love in which we live, we understand that it is because they did not know him when he walked the earth, and they still do not know him today. Though this can be a very difficult thing for us to deal with as we walk through this life, our Savior continues to shower his love on us through the Quality Time that he spends with us day after day. For every time we lift our hearts and voices in prayer to the Lord, the Lord Jesus sits beside us and quietly listens to everything that we have to say. Each time we sit down to read and study his Word, our Lord Jesus communicates with us, speaking to us through those pages, even as he conveys his great love to us. Each time we gather in worship, we spend our time in quality communication with the Lord our God and Jesus Christ our Savior. For it is here in worship that we speak to him with our hymns, in our prayers and through our praises as we worship him; and it is here that he communicates with us through the lessons and even the message of our sermon. Each time we gather here we spend Quality Time with the Lord our God who continually lavishes his love upon us.

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” Though we have not had the blessing of physically seeing and touching our Savior as the Apostles did, that is not to say that we have not felt the Physical Touch of our Savior’s love. For each time that we come forward to celebrate the feast of the Lord’s Supper, we feel the physical touch of our Savior’s great love for us. Each time that wafer touches our tongue, and we ingest that bread together with our Savior’s body, we are clearly reminded of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross. Each time we taste the wine, knowing that we are absorbing Jesus’ blood together with the wine; we feel our Savior’s forgiving hand holding our hearts and washing them clean, once again, from every spot and stain of our sins!

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” How great is the love our Father has lavished upon us that he continually communicates his love to us in each one of the five love languages that Dr. Gary Chapman has identified through his 30 years of marital counseling! Our God knows exactly what our primary love language is, and he lavishes his love upon us through it, but have we taken the time to learn what our God’s primary love language is? Have we taken the time to learn his primary love language so that we might communicate our love for him in it? If you had to guess, what might you say God’s primary love language is? Would you say Words of Affirmation? Would you say Quality Time? Would you say Receiving Gifts? Would you say Acts of Service? Would you say Physical Touch?

Though in reality you could argue that when it comes to God all five of the love languages work together hand in hand, I would argue that God’s primary love language is Quality Time, and his secondary love language is Acts of Service. I would argue this from what Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37–40, NIV) Loving the Lord requires that we put him first in our lives; that we spend quality time with him in reading and studying the Word, meditating on it, praying about it, and gathering to worship him. Loving our neighbor suggests that we allow the Lord’s love for us to flow through our lives as we show our love for our neighbor in the things that we do for them. Though you may not agree with me on this what is truly important for us today is that we grow in the love that our Lord has lavished upon us. As we have learned today: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN