St. Paul's Lockport Sermons

The good news is that even in Ezekiel's time, God promised that what He will do for us is not for our sake or what we have done. We will not sanctify His name. We will not be the ones who need to make God holy. He will sanctify His own name, for His holy name's sake. The good that God will do, the gifts that He will grant, will come from the promises He has made from Himself, from His own desires.

In Jesus' ascension he has gone to heaven, the highest heavens, and is at the right hand of God. Despite the ascension being an upward motion, Jesus has not moved to a space that is both up and far away. Heaven cannot be reached by any rocket, over any amount of time. Heaven is the unseen place wherever God is. So Jesus is with God the Father, He is not seen, and still He says to us, “I am with you always, even to the end of the earth.” 

The process of growing is necessary to make a real plant. It's more than just appearances. This is an analogy for the Christian life. It is never about appearances. If it is about appearance to you, then the one you are deceiving most of all is yourself. This is what James says in chapter 1 – “Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

Just has Christ displayed in His glorious resurrection, there is never a change in any promises that God gives. James is telling us that we receive these gifts from God by faith. This is not really talking about first article gifts, our physical needs, but third article, the spiritual gifts which we receive from God concerning our new life and salvation. In these things God does not change. Given all the variation and shadow of turning we see in all things in the world, it is good to have one thing which will always remain the same – the promise of God.

Therefore, the focus for our meditation today is the words of Peter in the epistle, “Beloved, I bed you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having you conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers thy may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”Peter calls Christians sojourners and pilgrims. Our home is not of this world. Our home is in Christ's kingdom. 

You probably know it's easy to be good when everyone is good to you. Jesus in His earthly ministry was continually attacked by the chief priests, scribes, and pharisees. They tried to tempt Him, test Him, and plotted to kill Him. Then there were of course many more well-meaning people making demands on Him. The disciples needed to be taught and not getting it. The people making Him physically weary with their requests. Besides all this, the temptation with the devil for 40 days and nights. Just thinking about that, you would expect a person to get angry, get short with people, resent them, think badly of them. You know that's how you would be with a task like Jesus has. So many today are overwhelmed with anxiety and depression because of their responsibilities, work, and family conflict. Christ bore all this and more. This was done in His humility, that is, as a man.

The foundation of that forgiveness is what Jesus shows them – the pierced hands and the wounds in His side. This is the Crucified one, the one who was given over as a sacrifice for their sins. The foundation of their peace is Christ's atoning death, and the proof of it's working is His resurrected body right before them. Everything that they need to know is right there in the room – the crucified Jesus, God and man, is risen from the dead.

If we think about keeping the feast as celebrating a day, a holiday, or a season, then we are thinking much to small. Just as Christ is infinitely greater Passover lamb than the Old Testament lamb, so the New Testament Passover is much more than observing a day, even a holiday like Easter. Our keeping of the feast is done not just on Easter but every day as we live in faith in Jesus Christ.

Christ promised one sign which would manifest who He is to all people. He would be three days in the earth and rise again, just as Jonah was three days in the belly of the great fish. Tonight we celebrate that sign. Christ has fulfilled His Word. The Son of God has taken on our flesh to be our Savior and our Brother. He has died on the cross and been put in the grave. Yet, like Jonah three days in the fish, He only remained three days in the grave and rose victoriously, defeating death forever.

Jesus on the cross is truly the King of the Jews. This is what it means to be the king of the Jews. Not David, not Solomon, not Hezekiah or Josiah or certainly not Herod. To be the king of the Jews is to fulfill perfectly the word of the Law and the Prophets, the Old Testament. That means to keep the commandments perfectly, and to die as a sacrifice for the sake of sinners.

They cannot make up for their sin. They are afflicted and killed by God's law. They turn back to sin constantly. They are the disobedient son who can't quite return. They are the unfaithful wife who keeps going astray. Therefore, God sent a different son. He sent His own son. God became man so Jesus could be the faithful and devoted son. Jesus could lead in saying, come let us return to the Lord. He truly followed His Father's will. He pursued the knowledge of the Lord day and night, like a tree planted by streams of water. The Words of Christ are Words of refreshment, as He was refreshed by the former and latter rain of His Father.

We know the Lord's Supper is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine, given for us Christians to eat and to drink. But why does it matter if we believe this is the true body and blood of Christ? Because this doctrine, from the plain words of Christ, gives the Christian great comfort.

The passion according to St. Luke has an account not in any of the other gospels - Jesus brought before Herod. Here we learn of Jesus bearing shame and mockery in our place.

People have many different reactions to Jesus, but to know Him truly by faith, we must know Him first as the Crucified One.

As we think on the Passion – let us examine the story of Peter, how he was tempted and fell, and was restored. It is a lesson of moving from bold self-assurance to bold dependence on Christ.

God does not want Isaac's blood. He does not want Isaac's death. God wanted Abraham's obedience. Abraham was willing to give up his beloved son for God. Abraham loved God more than he loved Isaac. There, at the point of extreme love and obedience to God, Abraham receives his son, alive, and more. 

Where does this book come from? I begin asking this question because we are often likely to judge saints of the Bible more harshly than we judge ourselves. The final chapter of Jonah does not leave anything for the prophet to brag about. He is being taught a tough lesson by His heavenly Father. So let us learn the same lesson. This led Jonah to write this book by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so let anyone who thinks he stand take heed, lest he fall. The wicked and petulant Jonah is recorded for us by the later, humble and reconciled Jonah. Let us emulate his humility as well.

Laetare reminds us that we are sons of the free woman. We have come into the inheritance of eternal life purely by grace. We have a heavenly Father that cares for us. Though we are full of sin, though we are but dust, though we are His enemies, He desired to send his Son to die in our place. By the death and resurrection of Christ, and the free gift of His grace alone, we become sons of the promise, and inherit from our heavenly Father.

Massive change can happen with words. The War of the Worlds radio broadcast in 1938 caused a mass panic. Words written in books brought communist revolutions in Europe beginning in the 1840s. Words of philosophers and popular thinkers in 1700s made people believe that religion was no longer a thing for “enlightened” man to believe. If words can be used for evil, they can certainly also be used for good. God's Word brought massive change to the Roman Empire, the gospel changed what Europe would be in a few hundred years, just because the words of the gospel were preached. Nations throughout history, like Germany in the reformation, were changed by the preaching of the Word of God. If man's word can be powerful, is not God's Word more powerful?

Children imitate parents. If our baptism is to be born again, birth from above of water and spirit, as Jesus says in John chapter 3, then we become in baptism children of God. Since we are God's children, we should live lives in imitation of Father. That is why Paul says “Be imitators of God as dear children.”

Jesus says, “Most assuredly I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” Phyllis heard the Word of God and believed in the Father who sent Jesus Christ. She already had been given everlasting life at that point. Now that promise of everlasting life even continues after her death. 

Jonah leaves himself in a place of complete helplessness and need. Here, in the dark belly of the fish, Jonah finds his place to pray. He finally prays. In that dark damp place Jonah finds that God hears him. God will not let him drown. At his lowest and darkest, from death and hell on earth, God was there. This finally moves Jonah to call on God in prayer.

He seeks their willing desire, as Christians, to walk and please God as he had already taught them, and in fact to do so more and more. After the catechism, the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, there is really not more concepts to learn, but we come into the deeper knowledge of these things and of our own weaknesses. When Paul tells them “you know the commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus” he means the basic teaching that he and Silas taught the Thessalonian church while he was with them. They have been instructed how to live, how to believe, and how to pray, as have we.

Think of yourself as a sailor, you are on a sinking ship in this world, your only hope is to appeal to the one who controls the storm, and who has given you a word of command. Pray with great reverence that you may be able to follow Him.

The heart of the devil's temptation is for Christ to deny His Sonship to the Father. In a similar way, we are also tempted to deny the sonship we have received in baptism.

There is a temptation, a lie, that the devil will tell every Christian, that many of us in fact fall for again and again. He will tell us that repentance is something that is easy. He will convince us that we can sin, we don't need to worry about sin, because we can always repent in the end. When we are in temptation and holding that decision in our mind, and know what we might do is sin, the devil will sidle up to us and whisper in our ear. He will say, “What's the worst that can happen? Suppose you sin, it is no big deal to return to God, to confess, to be sorry, to say, Lord have mercy. Just do those easy steps and God will forgive you, pardon your sins, and save your soul.”

Many of us have things in life we would like to do that we put off until it is easier. For some this can be the Christian life and its duties. We look at the parable of the soils and think that those who produce the fruit of faith must have an easy life with attacks of the devil, affliction, or temptations of the world. This is completely untrue, as Christ faced all these things, so must Christians. When we are humbled and brought to our lowest place, there God answers us, "my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Mark, Joseph, and baby Jesus appear to be just another poor Jewish family in the temple, giving the sacrifice for the dedication of the firstborn. Simeon, with the eyes of faith, sees in this six-week-old Jesus the coming King, and the suffering that He and His mother will face.

What is spiritual idleness? Refusing to do the work that is needed. Where do we find this work? In the Ten Commandments. Where is our spiritual job board? Look in your catechism at the table of duties. Not everyone who does physical work is doing spiritual work, but everyone who does spiritual work will be doing something physical, and in real time. 

He takes us to our own mount to be with him. Every communion is a heavenly mountaintop experience. But we are not alone. As Peter James and John were together so we come with other believers. We are strengthened in fellowship with one another as we are strengthened by His body and blood. We as strengthened as One Body under Christ, our Head.

What do you think about Jesus? Who do men say that He is? Who do you say that He is?In the beautiful climes of Caesarea Philippi, with snowy Mt. Hermon gazing down upon them, Jesus asks these questions of his disciples. They have been with Jesus for years. He healed the sick, cast out demons, and raised the dead. He preached repentance and the coming of the kingdom of God. Thousands have followed him. Few are fully dedicated to being his disciples. Others hate him and want Him to die. So who is He?

If the Father speaks from heaven at the baptism of Jesus saying, "This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," then we should take these words to heart. This is an epiphany of Jesus Christ as the only Son of God, we would do well to worship Him. What He does follows the Father's will exactly, and we would do well to believe in and do what He does. It is imperative for us also to become beloved sons of God, which we are, being joined to Him in baptism.

This love He has for His mother and father is no less for all lost sinners. We don't find Jesus in the place of our plans. We find Him in the place of the cross, because that is the place of His love for us. We must start at the cross where we see how serious our sin is, that it would cause this death. We see how great His love is, that He would do this for our life. And we do this not just once, but come back again and again.

The gifts of the wise men were just the first payment – tribute to a king who could not repay them back in gold or silver. But he pays with his own precious blood. He purchases and redeems us for His kingdom, and people from all over the world, in a way we never could.The Lord's kingdom shall expand through the church and the preaching of the gospel to be the greatest in the world. Not in worldly riches, but wealth in souls and in good deeds. What Christ can accomplish as king is beyond any king in the world in extent or endurance. Store up treasures in heaven for this kingdom.

What do we do with suffering? Suffering is a part of life. Since we live in a sinful world, we will never completely avoid suffering in this life. Yet the common wisdom is to just “avoid suffering.” That's good enough as far as it goes, we certainly don't want to try to suffer, do we? But what do we do when we must suffer? Matthew gives us a very good example with the early life of Jesus, and our epistle from St. Peter will lead us as well.

Then let us also be all the more diligent to receive our inheritance. If you would resolve anything in the new year, resolve this. Resolve to live in the name and inheritance which you have been given. Put to death those sins which are foreign to who you are. Christ has already cut off those things by baptism, in the circumcision of your heart. Live honoring the name which you have been given, the name of Jesus Christ. Remind yourself of this promise, and make good use of the sacraments for the strengthening of your heart. 

In Revelation 14, God gives us an image of how He sees the church, with Christ, the Lamb, as it's strength and head. This is to comfort us, as the devil works through the sins of men to attack the saints and the innocent, and to strengthen us, a God redeems sinful men to protect and help the saints and innocent in both body and soul.

Jesus Christ, the baby in the manger, is the eternal Word, the source of all creation. He is the eternal Light, who enlightens the dark hearts of men to know God. He is the eternal tabernacle, who has sacrificed himself to redeem us, so that God may dwell with us.

To those who were at the birth of Christ, it appeared as nothing more than the birth of an ordinary child. To those who believed the preached word of God, this birth became something more more marvelous, the coming of the Savior, the Son of God.

The Israelites said they did not want God to talk to them on Mount Horeb, but Moses, a man, to speak for God. God said this was good. Moses prophesied a prophet like him would one day come from the midst of the Israelites, who spoke a new and greater Word of God - the gospel. This prophet is Jesus, the incarnate Son of God.

Ruth and Naomi find their hope fulfilled in the work of Boaz, their kinsman redeemer. Ruth bears Obed, who would be the ancestor of the great Redeemer born in Bethlehem, Emmanuel, Jesus Christ.

In a world where it seems like Jesus isn't ruling, where His church isn't very impressive, one can wonder - where is Jesus? How do we know if we have come to the right place? We need to trust his word that Jesus has called men in his church to be His servants and stewards of the mysteries of God.

"This is what happens for Christians who live in hope and faith. It shines through in good works. It was not just the works that Boaz saw, but the faithfulness of Ruth. He sees in her someone who has taken refuge under the wings of the Lord. Ruth is someone who trusts in God. She is not Israelite by birth, but is a true member of Israel, a true child of Abraham, in her trust in God.Likewise, trusting in God, our good works shine through. We must first know that God is well-disposed to us, and this is only through the gospel of Jesus, that he has shed his blood and redeemed us from our sins. Then we can have faith and hope in God. Then we can do truly good works through which God does eternal work to serve our neighbors. That is life in Christian hope."

When it comes to many things in scripture, we often try not to think about it. We stay on our little islands on the parts of the gospels we like, familiar Bible stories, comforting verses, and the 23rd Psalm. All these are good, but there is something for us in the roiling waves of the more perplexing and even scary parts of scripture. As Paul is telling us today in Romans, it all comes together in Jesus. The scriptures are a book of hope in Christ, and in every part of them we should be encouraged in hope.

In chapter 1 of Ruth, God is showing that He can create blessing out of the bitterest circumstances, even when caused by our own sin. Crosses we bear make hope a difficult thing. Because God has visited His people in Jesus Christ, our Savior, Christians always have a certain hope.

When our introit today says “Let no one who waits on you be ashamed” we don't mean that we are waiting for the baby born in Bethlehem. When we pray “stir up your power, O Lord, and come,” we don't mean that we are like the Old Testament prophets waiting for a Messiah who will save us, not yet fully seeing Him. When we sing today at the Lord's Supper, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” we are not just pretending to be those people in Jerusalem welcoming our Lord sitting on a donkey.

Jesus is our help, but He is not just a means to our own ends. He will answer our prayers in the way that will best bring us closer to Him. Sometimes that's a yes, sometimes that a no.The Samaritan leper did not just ask Jesus for help to get on with his life. Upon being healed, he saw that Jesus truly IS life. 

People can put demands on God that he does not make them wait. Yet God made many wait – David still worked as a shepherd for years after being anointed king. The apostles had to wait 50 days for the holy spirit to come after Jesus rose. Instant gratification culture creates anxiety and frustration when forced to wait. The Word takes time. God takes time to form us in faith. The foolish never receive because they do not wait or ask in faith. 

God is not holding back his return because He is unable, or forgot, or any other human weakness. Time is nothing to Him. The Lord desires all to be saved, and if Christ is tarrying in His return and the final judgment, it is because there are some still who He wishes to save before the end. What scoffers disregard as weakness of God, or proof of nonexistence, because of their fear, is actually His great love for them.

It is very easy for people to live their lives as if there is not a Second Coming. Things that are far away are easy to put out of one's mind. That is why when tragedies happen in our sinful world, Jesus wants us to pull back our thoughts to repentance and faith. He wants us to consider the end, and our end.Even if we will not all live to the second coming of Christ, it is destined for every man to die, and then the judgment. As Paul explains to the Thessalonians in the epistle reading, even those who have died before Christ's return will on the last day be awakened for it. So the second coming of Christ is something that involves every person of every time and place.

Jesus Christ gives to his saints the certain hope of the resurrection. The scriptures testify to the hope throughout the Old and New Testaments. This hope purifies us in this life, looking forward to the final day when we will see God face to face.