Living Word Lutheran Church - Blog

Text: Romans 8:28-30
²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Want to See the Blueprint for Your Life?
I. It’s all for your good (v. 28)
II. It begins and ends in eternity (vv. 29-30)

Dear fellow redeemed in Christ,

People often ask me the difference between the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, which Living Word in Petaluma is a member of, and the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, which Christ Lutheran in Windsor is a member of. Both synods teach and believe the same things about God, the Bible, and salvation. The only difference, really, is in their backgrounds. The Wisconsin Synod is German in background, and the ELS is Norwegian.

They each also have their own unique history. A defining feature of ELS history occurred way back in the 1880s when there was no ELS, just the Norwegian Synod. Another occurred in 1917, when the church body that would become the ELS broke off from the Norwegian Synod. Both of these significant events centered on the doctrine of election. This is a teaching that is very easily misunderstood. But it’s also a teaching which is full of comfort for the Christian when understood correctly. Its roots are found in the verses we look at today. Want to see the blueprint for your life? Here it is. It’s all for your good. And it begins and ends in eternity.

I. [It’s all for your good.] But wait. How can God’s blueprint for my life be for my good? Life can be so difficult. We saw this in the Old Testament lesson from Job this morning. Earlier in this same chapter of Romans, chapter 8, Paul discusses how difficult life can be, especially for Christians. And we see it in our own lives.

It’s not easy when we face financial difficulties, is it? When we barely have enough money to scrape by. It’s not easy when we face relationship problems, whether it’s marriage difficulties, or our relationships with friends, family members, or co-workers. And the worst problem we have is the sin that we all face all day, every day. When we sin we hurt ourselves, we hurt those around us, and most importantly, we hurt our relationship with God. And this leads to eternal punishment.

Paul writes that “God works all things for the good of those who love Him.” But sin causes us to doubt that this even applies to us. Because of the sin that we’ve committed countless times, we’re left to ask ourselves, “Have I really loved God?” We’ve acted unlovingly towards Him and our neighbor countless times. And so can this possibly apply to me?

And yet, having faith, this comfort is for us. The doubt which I just mentioned is a trick of the devil. The verse says that “In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” He works all things for the good of those who are called according to His purpose. In other words, those who have faith in Christ as their Savior..

Let’s look at Joseph in the Old Testament. His brothers sold him into slavery. How many of us can say we’ve had that horrible experience? I mean, my brothers and I didn’t always treat each other the very best, but we certainly never sold each other into slavery! And then he gets there, gets a good job with Pharaoh’s captain of the guard, and the captain’s wife falsely accuses Joseph of coming on to her! So he ends up in prison! Talk about a rough life! And yet he had faith. And God was working everything for his good. God helped him to eventually rise in power to become the most powerful person in Egypt behind Pharaoh. And then God used him to help people all over the Middle East who were struck by a famine. God used the difficult situation for the good of Joseph, the good of his family, and the good of the whole Middle East. And really, He used that situation even for our good. Because of Joseph, the line of our Savior Jesus was preserved.

But Joseph went through years of difficult times for him to realize why things were happening the way they were. Sometimes it takes us years to realize why we go through the difficult things that we do. And sometimes we never see why it is. Remember Job in the Old Testament? He lost his whole family, all his possessions, and was infected with painful sores? As far as we’re told, he never found out why that was. And yet how many countless people today, and in the thousands of years since it was recorded, have found comfort in that account? But Job never saw that. The point being that we don’t always see the reason we go through tough times. But we hold, in faith, to what Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, says to us. God works all things for our good… for the good of those who love Him.

This is a great comfort for the Christians. I have a friend and classmate who is in his last classroom semester right now. His wife is 28 weeks pregnant with their first child, but this past week it was discovered that she has a form of stomach cancer. So this evening they are planning to induce her. God willing she will give birth to a healthy 28 week old child, but shortly thereafter will begin chemotherapy. That’s a tough situation! When her husband Paul wrote an update email this past week, he closed it with this passage. “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.”

What a comfort that is! To know that everything in our lives is happening for our good and for the good of God’s kingdom. Recently, I had a different friend who was going through some tough times and made the comment that “Eventually everything will be okay.” But here’s Paul’s point. No matter how difficult life gets, no matter what you’re going through, everything is okay right now. Everything is working according to God’s plan, according to His blueprint for the world. We just can’t see that whole blueprint right now. We only see the tiny time and place that we’re in. If we could see God’s whole blueprint, we’d have a different perspective. So Paul unrolls the blueprint and offers us at least a little insight into God’s plan for the world, and for us. And it stretches from eternity to eternity.

II. [It begins and ends in eternity.] Before the creation of the world, God knew you. And He didn’t just know you in some vague sort of way, like how we know some of those people at our big family reunions. He knew and knows us intimately. Even to the point where He knows how many hairs we have on our heads.[1] Most importantly, God knew, from before time began, that we would be called to be His children.

And Paul writes that “For those God foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.” Predestination is a word we don’t hear too often in everyday life. It refers to the Bible’s teaching that God elected Christians from eternity. He “destined” us to hear the Gospel of Christ, to believe it, and to receive all of its blessings. Some church bodies say God predestined some to heaven and some to hell. This leads to the idea that God gets the glory for salvation, but also the blame for condemnation. This says more than the Bible does… especially since it says that “God wants all men to be saved.”[2]

Other church bodies say that He elects some people because He knows they will “choose” Him. This doesn’t blame Him for those that reject faith. But it also doesn’t give Him all the credit for those who are saved. This belief makes faith a good work, and a cause of salvation. This was actually the issue in the two controversies that the ELS faced a hundred years ago.

Meanwhile, Lutheranism just holds to what the Bible says. The word “predestination” occurs 6 times in the Bible, and they are all used in reference to God’s plan, or purpose, of salvation. God predestines “the elect” to heaven. Grace is freely offered to all. Unfortunately, because of the hardness of the sinful human heart, some reject it. For those who are not saved, it is their own fault. Christians have the same sinful human heart, but by God’s grace, we are blessed with faith which receives that salvation.  At some point, this doesn’t all make perfect sense to the human mind. But, as Martin Luther says, we take off our little hats, and admit that we can’t comprehend all of God’s ways.

We focus on the fact that, completely by the grace of God, we’ve been called by the Word of God, by the Holy Spirit, to faith. We’re called to believe in the greatest gift we’ve ever been given… the gift of innocence. To believe that Jesus Christ did indeed live a perfect life and die an innocent death… for my sins. And by faith in this message, we are declared innocent, not guilty, in God’s sight. That’s what it means to be justified. Having been called to faith, we’re called to “conform to Christ’s likeness”—to follow and serve Him, to bring glory to His name, and to become like Him (like Christ). And we’re called to be glorified, like our brother Christ.

And that’s the final piece of the blueprint that Paul gives us. “Those He justified, He also glorified.” The word “glorified” is past tense. God has promised it, it is as good as done. We share in God’s glory right now through faith. We are empowered by the Word here on earth and we have a sure foundation in Christ, by faith in Him. And while we still do encounter these difficulties in life, as I mentioned before, we live with the sure guarantee that our glory will be fully realized in heaven. There we will live in perfection for eternity.

Is there any doubt that this applies to us? No. Not as long as we keep our eyes focused on Christ in faith. We know that God wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.[3] Are we included in all people? Yes we are. So He wants you and me to be saved. We can also be sure that Christ has done everything needed for our salvation. In another of his epistles, Paul writes, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”[4] Christ has done everything for us. Believing this, Jesus tells us that “no one can pluck us from the Father’s hand.”[5] So we focus, not on ourselves, or on our own good efforts to get to heaven… but on God’s promise. He wants us to be saved, He sent His Son who died for us, and nothing can now pluck us from His hand.

And as Paul writes just a couple verses after our text, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”[6] Because God has chosen us from eternity, has provided our salvation in the gift of His Son, and has called us to faith, we know that all things in life work for our eternal good.

Want to see the blueprint for your life? There it is. It starts way back before the beginning of time when God decided to create you and bring you to faith. Then He created the world, time began, and He set in motion His plan to save you. 2000 years ago God sent His Son to earth. And Jesus Christ carried out every part of His mission which means that our sins are forgiven and heaven awaits us. Now you’ve been born and are living. At times, life can be difficult, but God’s working it all out… for you. And someday it’ll be your time to pass from this life into the next. And there your story will continue forever and ever. And it will be perfect. The perfect happy ending that never ends. Keep your eyes on the big picture, on the big blueprint. And when you can’t see why it’s going the way it does, trust God that He knows what He’s doing, because He does. He has a much bigger plan than we can ever possibly see or imagine. And it’s all for you, from eternity to eternity. Praise be to God on High! Amen.

[1] Luke 12:7
[2] 1 Timothy 2:4
[3] 1 Timothy 2:4
[4] Ephesians 2:8-9
[5] John 10:29
[6] Romans 8:32

Text:  Mark 1: 21-28

I spent three days last week with people who understand authority.  They are part of a system where those lines of authority are clearly defined.  They have to be.  When bullets are flying, when fellow soldiers come under attack, you can’t have a committee meeting.  Everyone looks to the Sergeant or the officer given the authority to lead his or her soldiers at that critical moment.

It’s understood by those soldiers.  Even by those we met whose bodies and minds and families have been so damaged by war.  Those whose sacrifice many of us will never know and can’t appreciate enough .  Even that Staff Sergeant who can no longer serve, whose  back injury makes him unemployable, whose memory is now so bad,  he understands authority in the US Army.  But not just there.  Thanks be to God, Staff Sergeant Mike is just beginning to recognize the authority of another whose name is Jesus.

Some other folks came face to face with that authority a long time ago.  It may have seemed like just another Sabbath day in Capernaum.  A day of rest from the hard work of fishing or farming or work in the home. They got dressed and made their way to the synagogue for worship.  But today things would be much different.  Someone there would make them different.  Jesus of Nazareth.  And here in this Word we join them.  We join them:

IN CHURCH WITH JESUS
I.  He teaches with authority
II.  He displays his authority
III.  He inspires people to spread the news

Jesus had just taken on his first four disciples., the brothers Simon Peter and Andrew, James and John.  ²¹ They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.

Does that sound odd?  Would we have that here?  A stranger comes in and begins to teach.  It was not unusual then.  You see, back then there was a synagogue ruler, something like a president of the congregation.  He was the gatekeeper for visiting teachers to get up and speak.  With that man’s permission, Jesus got up and began to teach.

And here let’s be careful with the picture we paint in our imagination.  We know that he was compassionate and caring.  We know his heart went out to people having a tough time.  So we might picture Jesus as some kind of shy reserved person, who rarely raised his voice.  But that picture doesn’t fit here does it?  ²² The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority… They were amazed because his way of teaching was so different from the Rabbis, their religious teachers.

You see, the rabbis would go on and on quoting the opinions of other rabbis.  And often those so-called authorities disagreed with one another.  So people were left to wonder, what’s the truth?

But Jesus was different. He taught them as one who had authority.  Not on the one hand this, but on the other hand that. And should we be surprised?  From his lips came the very words of God because he is God.  So Jesus was direct, sure, confident and sincere.   So that when he spoke the people listened with rapt attention.

But it wasn’t just the way he spoke. It was also his message.  It was so different from the rabbis.  He didn’t pile a bunch of man made  rules and regulations on them.  His message was far different -so different that these worshippers called it something new – a new teaching.  For it didn’t weigh them down . Rather it lifted them up with freedom and hope.   For Jesus taught them the good news of the kingdom – a kingdom where our King meets your guilt and mine with his forgiveness.  And Jesus was more than a messenger of that good news.  He was and is that gospel message.

But how sad that the people called that something new.  ‘We haven’t heard this before.  It tells you something about the religious teachers of Jesus’ day.  They had reduced the light of God’s mercy to barely a ray.  Instead as Jesus would say, they served up a harsh diet of rules taught by men.

It reminds me of a man I knew who had studied with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. To him the gospel of Jesus Christ was also a new teaching and a welcome one.  You see, until that time, they had told him, you’ve got to be worthy, good enough to earn your way with God.  But Bill knew he wasn’t. He knew he couldn’t no matter how hard he tried.

Did I tell you that Bill was deaf?  Day after day he would ask me one question after another.  Then I would open the Bible to a verse that answered his question. One day, the Spirit shined through the darkness.   You mean that Jesus has done it all?  The tears flowed down big Bills face.  He rejoiced to hear that gospel message of  his forgiveness, a that set him free, that message Jesus taught with authority long ago.

But Jesus isn’t the only one ever to teach with authority.  Through the years we’ve heard the names of people like Jim Jones or David Koresh.   We don’t have to look back very far to read the name,  Joseph Smith.  They too were self-assured people. And they certainly brought a new teaching- a new teaching that convinced many they were bringing the truth.

But in church with Jesus, we don’t just see our Lord teach with authority.  We also see Jesus display his authority .

Go to some churches today and you will hear that Jesus was not much more than a man.  You won’t hear that God in his love sent his Son to redeem us, to pay that bloody price to set us free from our sin.  It’s kind of ironic.  Satan and his demons know who Jesus is.  They know what Jesus came to do.  So  it shouldn’t surprise us to hear what happened in church with Jesus.  An evil spirit interrupted Jesus’ teaching.

You see, Satan hates when the gospel is preached or taught.  He hates when people hear that life giving message.  So don’t be surprised when stuff happens. Ever notice how many things go wrong on Sunday morning before you come to worship.  The flat tire, the argument.  How those interruptions just seem to happen when you sit down to read your Bible?  Why?  The same reason we see here with this poor demon possessed man.  The evil spirit knows who Jesus is and why he’s come.  To crush the serpent’s head and set us free.  So that foul spirit  cries out in fearful opposition,  ²⁴ “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

Think about those words.  What that servant of Satan said was true, wasn’t it?  But Jesus was not interested in his testimony as true as it might be.  And he did not want this man to suffer one moment longer. So he said, Be quiet, or literally, put a muzzle on it, spirit. Come out of him.  And the evil spirit could only obey.  He could not resist Jesus’ authority.  Shrieking in protest, convulsing this man one last time, he left him.  In Church with Jesus, Jesus displayed his authority.  Jesus set him free.

What a precious reminder we have here. For Satan is not some make believe cartoon character.  He’s a real and deadly enemy who wants to ruin our lives, steal our hearts, and give us hell.  And even though we can’t see him, we don’t have to look very far to see his work, even in our own lives.

But this man was not the only one set free from the devil’s deadly power.  Look in the mirror and you see one more.  For that’s what Jesus did at the cross.  There at the very moment when Satan thought he had destroyed the Son of God, Jesus set us free.  He set us free from the pressing load of our guilt.  He set us free to live each day as God’s forgiven people.  He set us free from the death we deserved to live in hope.   And how can we know.  How can we be sure?  He rose.  And  there once more displayed his authority.

The other night our president gave his State of the Union address.  I was at a conference so I could not listen to it. But I imagine the president spoke with authority as he sought to move the country in the direction he wants us to go.  And whether you agree or not, lots of people were talking about his speech and what it meant.

Well how much more these people in church with Jesus.  What they heard, what they witnessed could not be contained in that synagogue.  In Church with Jesus, he inspired people to spread the news about him.

Amazed they asked each other, What is this? A new teaching and with authority. They went back to their families, back to their fields, their work, spreading the news of this Jesus of Nazareth.  They went back wondering out loud, Could he be the One?  Could he be the Christ?

Yet we don’t have to wonder.  We know that He is the ONE.  He is the Son of God who pried Satan’s fingers away from our lives.  He is the Son of God whose life for us and death for us bring forgiveness and eternal life to all who believe.

Well that good news can not stay inside this  church either.  For he comes to us here.  Jesus comes to us in this Word with an amazing message, a message that inspires his people to bring it to others.  That’s why we sit here all these years later. Someone has brought it to us, and now he inspires us to do the same.  To bring to people  the only message that can set them free.  Jesus Christ.

What a day it must have been for these worshippers!  In church with Jesus!  Well that is why we gather here.  To come in from a world that sometimes bruises and batters us.  To sit at the feet of our Savior.  To have him heal those hurts, calm those fears.  And give us hope in a world gone so wrong.  In church with Jesus today and forever. In church with Jesus.   How blessed we are!  Amen.

Text: 1John 4:10-12

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. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

This is the season of giving.  The retailers would sure like us to think so.  And while you’re at it, how about those big ticket items.  Maybe a $35,000 BMW with a big bow around it.  Maybe the latest piece of technology that does it faster and better.  Maybe a nice pearl necklace to adorn that special someone’s neck.

Yet  I don’t know about you.  When it comes to gifts, when someone asks me what I would like for Christmas, I usually draw a blank.  Not because my brain is failing me, though some might question that.  Here’s why.  I really have all I need and more, much more.

I would think that’s the case for most of us sitting here this morning.  In fact, if you don’t have what you really need, food and clothing, a roof over your head,  I’d like to know about it.  Maybe there is something we can do.

So here comes Christmas.  How are we going to celebrate it this year?  Last week we talked about worship, getting ready to worship.  Today I want to let this Word of God teach us something about giving.

Christmas Giving Where it’s Needed
I.  The Father sure got it right
II.  What about us?

Giving is a close relative to love.  At least it should be.  Well if we want to learn something about love, real love, John tells us, look at God’s love.   Look what His love moved him to give.  Look where God  directed his giving.  It’s all here in this one verse. 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.   You see, God’s love didn’t start with ours.  God’s love for you and me wasn’t a response to our love for him.  He didn’t look down from heaven and think how great WE art.  Far from it.  We gave him every reason to push us away.

Yet he loved us.  Not just with some warm fuzzy feeling.  His love for you zeroed in on a need, a desperate need.  A need we may not have even known.  Think about it.  When I ride along with the police, they sometimes pull someone over.  Before the police officer comes to the car, he goes to his computer screen which gives him the capability of checking your record.  Are there any outstanding warrants for your arrest?  Are you on probation?  If they find something, you’ve got a problem.

Well do you think you or I could stand before God based on the record of our lives?  What would your thoughts say about you?  A lot more than some shameful incident the press might reveal about a presidential candidate.   We need to understand something.  You and I would be toast if God treated us the way we deserve.

Yet what was God’s response?  Flush us down the eternal toilet?  That’s what we had coming.  But what do we find?  His love.  His love that zeroed in our need.  His love that responded to our need in this way.   He gave us his own Son.  He sent him.  And why?  Not to take us out.  But to be born as one of us.  He gave us his own Son.  Not to walk around like some kind of celebrity, but to serve us, to set us  free from the sin and death that stuck to us like that mud on the bottom of your shoe.

Here comes the amazing thing.  One word that says so much about God’s Christmas giving.  One special Greek word that says this about Jesus, the gift God gave us all :  He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins In other words, He is the One God gave us to make things right.  And we know how.   God would take what is wrong about us and put it on His own Son. My guilt, my punishment on him.

And don’t think that was easy for the Father.  To know even at Jesus birth, that His own Son, would someday face what we sing about at Christmastime.  More than once my voice has choked up to sing it. Nails, spear, shall pierce him through, the cross, he’ll bear for me, for you…

So yes it’s the season of giving.  But see how God leads the way.  Go to the manger and there  see the  gift God gave.  Christmas giving where it’s needed.   For you , for me.  For that person who still does not know the child of Mary.  For there we see the Father’s love that sure got it right.

Now what about us? What about our love?  What about our giving?   The apostle John teaches us this Christian faith is not just about receiving God’s gift.  It’s not just about rejoicing that this gift, his own Son, speaks to our greatest need.  Being a Christian is not just about praising  God  for a hope like no other.

So what about us?  What about our giving?  What do these words teach  us: Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. Since God so loved us.  What do we know about that  love?  It was undeserved.  We still don’t deserve it. What else do we see?  God acted.  He didn’t just feel sorry for us.  Oh that’s too bad. They’re dying sinners.  That’s too bad. God gave.  He gave of himself.  He gave where it was needed.

You and I  are to show that same kind of love.  So often our gifts go to people we love.  Those we like.  There is a place for that.  But this kind of love is something different, something more.  Listen to Jesus:  If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you…Even sinners love those who love them. (Luke 6:32) This love is something more  and it gives.  Like God’s love, it gives.  It doesn’t just sit on the sideline and feel bad about what we see.  This love gives where it’s needed.

Now what does that mean? What does that mean this Christmas season?  It can mean any number of  things.  But since the Lord has blessed each of us with only so much to give we need to think about it.  Be proactive about our Christmas giving.

So here is my suggestion.  Start with those you love, your family.  Maybe you can agree that this year will be different.  Instead of piling high the gifts, instead of buying expensive stuff, why not agree to less. Why not agree to give presence, time with each other.  Why not make a gift?  For instance, one member of my family is taking all the many pictures out of those albums that are getting old. He’s scanning them and organizing them into a book for all of us.  What a great gift – a great gift that won’t cost all that much.  Mostly time for those he loves.

But here’s the point.  That frees up some money that would otherwise be spent. Why not take that money you save and give like God.   Christmas giving where it’s needed.

Last week we heard about giving to provide clean fresh water in places India and Africa.  Many children die every year because they get diseases from their water. By giving to our Christian aid and relief you can help build wells in the name of Jesus .  You can provide food and medical care in Russia and Bulgaria.  You can support community centers in very poor parts of Mexico that offer food, clothing and skills for living.  And you can do this in the name of Jesus.

I also know a way to give to help  Christians who have suffered terrible injury and loss at the hands of others.  Many don’t realize how bad it is for Christians in other parts of the world.  Places like Nigeria and Egypt.  Let me know if you wish to give in this way.  It is sorely needed.

Then there are so many service men and women.   Many come home maimed and messed up from so many deployments.  There are families whose loved ones come home in a casket.  Surely there are needs there .  Christmas giving where it’s needed.

It starts with the Father’s love that gave us his Son.  God so loved you and me.    Well that love does more than save us.  It does more than give us hope.  It transforms.  It pushes back against that selfishness that is so natural in each of us.  It makes his people, giving people.  And when that love is living and active in your life here’s what it shows:    if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. Amen.

Text:  Isaiah 40:3-5,9

³ A voice of one calling:
“In the desert prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the wilderness
a highway for our God.

⁴ Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.

⁵ And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the
Lord has spoken.”

⁹ You who bring good tidings to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem,
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”

I remember seeing a Christmas tree.  It must have taken days to decorate.  It was awesome.  Yet it was so full of decoration that I wondered out loud- Is there a tree in there someplace? The Christmas tree was all but obscured by the decorations.

Now don’t get the wrong idea.  My theme is for today is NOT let’s see the tree!  But think of the picture.  Is it possible that we can do the same with Christmas?   Are we about to hang so many things on these days before Christmas  that we can hardly see it?  Will we allow the clutter and trappings of this season to block out what God wants to bring to our hearts and lives?

When someone important is coming you get ready.  This is a time when we get ready.  The church calls it Advent which means coming.  Christmas is coming.  How are we getting ready.  What are we getting ready for?

If you ask most people about being ready, you hear about trips to the mall.  You’ll see anxious looks about getting the right gifts and preparations that still need to be done.  Are the lights up?  Even pastors and vicars allow the anxiety of deadlines overshadow what’s all important.

What are we missing?  What should we be getting ready for?  Think about it.  What do we see happening over and over that first Christmas?  What do you see again and again breaking out at the coming of Christ our Lord and Savior.

Think of the angels.    ^{Luke 2:13,14} Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

Then the shepherds.  ^{Luke2: 20} The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Then that senior citizen of the kingdom, Simeon, in the temple.  ^{Luke2: 28} Simeon took him in his arms and praised God…

Then those mysterious men from the East called Magi:.  ^{Matthew 2: 11} On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.

Do you see where God’s Word is pointing us?  This season of Advent is about getting ready. And one thing we want to get ready for is this.  That our hearts be ready to worship, worship at Christ’s coming whether it be his coming at Bethlehem or that day when he comes again in the clouds.

Here God’s prophet helps get us ready.   Long before our Savior’s birth he points ahead to that time we shall soon celebrate.

So:  It’s Advent:  Get Ready to Worship
I.  Remember Who’s coming
II.  Prepare the way

To a people held captive in a far away place, would come exciting news.  ⁹You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah,

“Here is your God!”  They would spend years in Babylon as a defeated people.  But they were to remember this great promise.  God would come.  He would roll up his sleeves, bring down their captors and bring his people home once more.  It would look like one King of Persia had merely conquered the king of Babylon.  That’s how it looks in the pages of history.  But they were to remember whose coming would make it so.  Here is your God!

It must have been wonderful to see God remain true to his Word.  To see wicked Babylon brought down.  Those that had burned their temple to the ground.  To hear that decree by the Persian king, you can go home.  You can resettle your towns.  You can rebuild your temple.  Go in peace.  Wow.  That must have been great.

Yet that was just a small step on the way to an Advent far more wonderful.  These words from Isaiah pointed to a far greater coming.  They point to people in a far worse situation. Every one of us.  It’s one thing to have to live in a place you don’t want to.  It’s another to live your life without God and without hope.  That was you and me.  That’s where we are on our own.  Held captive by a heart that drenches us with guilt.  That thumbs its nose at God or just plain ignores his ways.  Each of us has our own story to tell, don’t we?  But it comes down to this.  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  (Rom 3:23)

What to do with such people?  What would you or I do?  From the distant past came a promise that points each of us to one certain Child born long ago.  We’re getting ready to celebrate his birth.  Here is your God! Those words point to baby Jesus.  Emmanuel.  God with us.  Here is your God come not to bring down on our heads what we surely deserve.  Here is your God come as your brother to save you from what you deserve.  Here is your God who would die for you.  Here is your God who comes to you now in his Word with the Father’s love and forgiveness.  Here is your God who comes to us dying sinners with hope.

So what are you doing this season?  What are we going to fill our hearts and lives with these next few weeks?  Stressful preparations, frantic shopping or travel.  Will this season leave you once more feeling empty and spent. Or maybe you come to this season with something already in your heart.  Something sad or painful that has come your way.  I don’t know but I expect there is at least one of you that is hurting right now.

Well whatever it is for you, whether you are down or distracted.  It’s Advent:  Get ready to worship. And why?  Friend, remember who’s coming.  So prepare the Way.

³A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.⁴Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low;

the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.

People understood that picture.  When a king planned to come to a town, he would often send someone ahead to spread the word.  The people would then go to work on the road leading into town.  You wanted to make it as easy as possible for your king.  You didn’t want his horse to step into some big pothole and break his leg.  That would not be good.

But the one coming to his people in Babylon was more than just a king. He is the Lord.  Well the Lord needs no road to travel on.  So this is not about filling potholes and improving a road in what is now Saudi Arabia.  It’s a voice that called for God’s people to prepare a different way – the road to their hearts. To get ready to welcome his coming to set them free from Babylon.

Yet when that happened these same words were not yet fulfilled.  For the day would come when God would send one certain voice to call out in another desert  - the desert of Judea.  He was to go before the Lord Jesus.  We know him as John the Baptist. He carried out his ministry a long time ago but his words still speak to us today.  Prepare the way of the Lord.

You see, if we’re getting ready to worship Him it’s wise to survey that road to our hearts.  What do we find this morning?  What condition is it in?   Has that road become washed out with carelessness or neglect of God’s Word?  Have we let it get overgrown with drinking, or lust instead of love, or just plain self-indulgence that never is happy or content?  It leaves you empty.  Believe me, I know.

Or is that road crooked with sins that we need to repent of?   What have we let come between us and the Lord?  A grudge that we refuse to let go.  A selfishness that refuses to give and be generous to others.  A heart that can’t see our desperate need for God’s forgiveness.   John calls out from the desert to each of us.  Prepare the way.

For it’s Advent: It’s time to get ready to worship.  With the angels, the shepherds, the Magi and dear Simeon.  For the stuff of this season cannot fill your heart. It cannot give you hope.  But He can.  The one who came as a Child.  The one who will come in glory.  The one who comes to us in his Word and his Supper with forgiveness and life.  Here is your God!  He is coming.  Get ready to worship. Amen.

Text: Luke 17:11-19
¹¹ Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance ¹³ and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” ¹⁴ When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. ¹⁵ One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. ¹⁶ He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.  ¹⁷ Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Why Thank We All Our God?

1. For His mercy
2. For His healing

Dear fellow redeemed in Christ,

Introduction: I’m guessing that most, if not all of us here today are familiar with the hymn Now Thank We All Our God. It’s one of the most popular Thanksgiving hymns in our hymnal, and possibly in America. It was written in the early 1600s by the Lutheran pastor and hymn writer Martin Rinkart who served in the German town of Eilenburg during the horrors of the Thirty Years War. Eilenburg became an overcrowded refuge for the surrounding area. This led to epidemic and famine and, in 1637, the Great Pestilence. At the beginning of that year, there were four ministers in Eilenburg. But one abandoned his post for healthier areas and could not be persuaded to return. Pastor Rinkart officiated at the funerals of the other two. As the only pastor left, he often conducted services for as many as 40 to 50 people per day. In May of that year, his own wife died. By the end of the year, the refugees had to be buried in trenches without services. Yet living in a world dominated by death, Pastor Rinkart wrote the following prayer for his children to offer to the Lord: “Now thank we all our God With hearts and hands and voices; Who wondrous things hath done, In whom this world rejoices. Who, from our mother’s arms, Hath led us on our way, With countless gifts of love, And still is ours today.” And so today we consider the question, “Why thank we all our God?” We see that we have every reason to thank Him, first, for His mercy, and second, for His healing.

I. [For His mercy] Everyone here today… in fact everyone in the world… we’re all beggars. And we’re all like the 10 lepers in our account. Not just the nine who didn’t return and give thanks, and not just the one who did return to thank his Lord. (We’ve all had times of thankFULness… and thankLESSness.) But we’re all like the lepers in that none of the lepers had anything good to offer Jesus for His mercy. They had the skin disease called leprosy. Now in the Bible, when a person has leprosy, it can refer to a number of different skin diseases, not just modern-day leprosy, which is known as Hansen’s Disease. But I want to tell you about Hansen’s Disease because I think it illustrates well how bad this disease was for people.

The myth is that if someone has leprosy, like Hansen’s Disease, their fingers and toes just start falling off. That’s just a myth; that’s not exactly how it works. What does happen is that their nerves, especially towards the edge of the skin are severely impaired. So their toes or fingers might shrivel up. They can also contract very serious infections on these areas. And so they do, in a sense, lose their toes and fingers and other extremities.

Leprosy, in Jesus’ day, was considered highly contagious. The lepers were forced to live outside of the city limits, away from other people, in “leper colonies.” They were complete outcasts from the community. A leper was a person who was regarded as already dead, and that’s why they were considered unclean. In Leviticus, Moses gives instruction regarding the man or woman who is diagnosed with leprosy. He writes, “The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp.”[1]

Not only were these 10 men physically diseased and considered dead… but they were spiritually diseased and dead. All 10 of these men were sinners. No worse than anyone else, but certainly no better either. The thanklessness of the nine shows their sinful nature. Does that mean that the one thankful leper, the Samaritan, was not a sinner? No, he was every bit as sinful as the rest. And so, physically and spiritually diseased and dead, what could these 10 men ever hope to offer our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Nothing. They had nothing. And that’s why when they called out to Jesus for mercy, they called Him their Master. They recognized they were completely at His mercy.

As I mentioned, we’re in no better shape. Like the lepers, we have nothing to offer; we’re all sinners. The prophet Isaiah writes that all our “righteous acts are like filthy rags.”[2] On our own, we’ve done no good thing for which God should show us love or mercy. And like the lepers, we’re outcasts. But it’s not just from the local community, we’re outcasts from God. We don’t deserve to even be in His presence. And our “disease of sin,” if you want to call it that, makes it so that we are dead, too. We’re dead in our trespasses.[3]

And like, at least the nine lepers, our thanklessness shows our undeserving character. It’s so easy to take our earthly blessings for granted. It’s so easy to forget that, despite how hard we may have worked for all of the earthly goods that we have, they are nothing more than gifts from the Lord. And more significant than the fact that we aren’t always as appreciative of our earthly gifts as we should be… is the fact that we often fail to consider the significance of our spiritual blessings. Isn’t this what happens when we worry? We think, “I know I have eternal glories beyond the grave, but that’s not important right now. What’s important is my earthly needs right now.” And when we say that, we trivialize all that Christ has done for us. Clearly we have nothing to offer our Lord and Savior either. And so, like the lepers, we cry out “Lord, have mercy upon us!”

Like the ten lepers in our account, we’re all in the same boat. For them, the Jew had no advantage over the Samaritan, who was considered to be of lower standing and a second-class citizen. But as lepers and sinners, they were all beggars. And the same is true for us. No matter our church attendance, no matter our financial state, we’re all equally in need of a Savior. And we’re all equally in need of His mercy.

Transition: But Jesus sees us, as He saw the lepers. That’s a significant word in our text because the natural human reaction would have been to just pass the lepers by. But Jesus saw them and He recognized their need. And in the same way, He recognizes our need.

We, too, come to our Lord and Savior as beggars, with nothing to offer. And when He has blessed us, we have often failed to be as grateful as we should have been. But thank God for His mercy. It’s a mercy we can count on. As the words of the old hymn Rock of Ages say, “Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling.” He has been merciful; it’s mercy we can count on. And He has brought us healing, a healing we can count on.

II. [For His healing] In our account today, Jesus physically healed all of the lepers. It didn’t matter if they were Jews or Samaritans, He healed them. And He knew that the one would turn back and thank Him, but that the other nine would not. And yet He healed all of them.

In the same way, our God blesses all of us materially. Believers and non-believers alike are blessed with far more than they or we could ever need. Martin Luther offers us a short listing of some of the earthly blessings for which we can be grateful in his explanation of the Fourth Petition, “Give us this day our daily bread.” In defining what we mean by daily bread, he writes the following. I’m not going to even mention everything in his list. But think about each item I say, and think about whether we don’t have far more of this item than we could ever really need. He writes, “Daily bread includes everything needed for this life, such as food… drink… clothing… shoes… house… money… goods… good weather… health… true friends and the like.” And especially here in the United States we really have nothing to complain about. We talk about being in a recession, but look at all these good things we still have. What an amazing God we have to shower all of this upon us!

But in the end, these material blessings are temporary and will all crumble away. Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.”[4] But it isn’t. Far more importantly than the fact that God blesses us materially, is the fact that Christ has healed us from sin and its effects. And this healing isn’t just for this life; it has eternal value.

So what is this healing that is of such greater significance? The greatest gifts are often the ones that came at the greatest cost, right? And that’s the case with our greatest gift as well. It’s not these earthly goods. If God wants us to have them, we have them; it doesn’t cost Him a thing. But the greatest gift that He’s given us came at the cost of His own Son’s life. And Jesus died, not just for those who show Him love, but He died for sins of whole world.[5]

By our Lord’s death on the cross, He has cured our sin. He died for all of our sins, including the times when we have been ungrateful for the amazing blessings that surround us. So we have no reason to feel guilty anymore for ungratefulness or any other sin. Our broken relationship with God our Father has been restored. And we have hope for a better future, both in this life and the next.

But even though these blessings are won for everyone in the world, they only come to us through faith. It’s not the cause of these eternal blessings, but it is the pipeline by that carries them to us. Jesus ends the account by instructing the Samaritan to “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” Did the man’s faith heal him of his leprosy? We don’t want to fall into the trap of thinking that this grateful Samaritan leper was the only one of the ten who had faith. All of the men cried out to Jesus as their master. And they all left to go show themselves to the priest, while they still had leprosy. So they actually all showed themselves to have faith, at least that Jesus had power to heal them as He did.

But the Greek word that Jesus uses here for “made you well,” could also be translated, “has saved you.” Clearly this has greater implications than just the man’s physical health. Because of the man’s faith in Jesus as His Savior, He was saved, eternally. And so it is for us. Faith in our Savior makes it possible that we receive these gifts of salvation. And this faith, too, is a great blessing for which we give thanks. Because through this faith, we receive the blessings of salvation.

And so, like the 10 lepers in our account today, we’ve been greatly blessed. We’ve been blessed with earthly blessings, spiritual blessings, and a faith by which we receive the spiritual blessings. And the heart that has been so blessed naturally shows its gratitude by praising and thanking God. Through faith in our Savior, we turn around, turn back to Christ and say, “Thank you, Lord! You are an amazing God! We know that we can’t ever thank You enough, but we will always try.”

Conclusion: One of the family devotion books that my dad read to us growing up was A Few Minutes With Jesus. All of the devotions center around the fictional Whitney family. There is one devotion that, for whatever reason, has always been remembered by all of us kids. It’s the Thanksgiving one. In the Thanksgiving one, the oldest son, Jeff, is eating his Thanksgiving dinner. But all of a sudden, all of his food starts disappearing. When it does, he realizes he has forgotten to thank the Lord for his food. Jeff wakes up and realizes it was just a dream. Of course it’s just a dream. That’s not the way God operates and we see it here in the account of the 10 Lepers. But Now Thank We All Our God. He is a God of great mercy, and of great healing… both physically and spiritually. And He is a God who has given us every reason to praise His name. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Amen.

[2] Isaiah 64:6.

[3] Ephesians 2:5.

[4] 1 Corinthians 15:15

[5] John 2:2.