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Sermon

Sermon for 09.15.24 “Our able Savior”

Sermon for 091524
Text: Mark 9:14-29
Theme: Our able Savior

In the Name of the Father…Amen.

The Gospel lesson serves as our sermon text for this morning.

Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God the heavenly Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Mark 9:17–18, 29 (NASB95)

17 And one of the crowd answered [Jesus], “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; 18 and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.”29 And [Jesus] said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.” This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:

Lord God, You are able more than able To accomplish what concerns me today You are able more than able To handle anything that comes my way You are able more than able To do much more than I could ever dream Lord God, You are able more than able To make me what You want me to be. Amen.

Introduction

Mark 9:18 (NASB95)

18 and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth,  and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.” The disciples were not up to the job. Yes, brothers and sisters in Christ, that is a doubt that has plagued us all a number of times over throughout the trials of our lives. Why? Because there are times for all of us that it is simply true. There are things that no matter how hard we try and try again, we simply cannot do. For example: Moving the altar. Ok, let’s try something smaller: how about the baptismal font? Better yet: climbing up the steeple to repair the cross? I know, let me lead by example, right?

Like the disciples, there is much we are unable to do. No, the disciples were not up to the job. They had tried to help the poor father and his helpless son, but they could not. Your heart has to go out to this poor dad! How awful it must have been to watch his poor dear boy being thrown on the ground, foaming at the mouth like that of a dog until he went rigid as if he were dead. It’s bad enough when our children are sick, but to know that it’s a spirit throwing your kid about—how horrible that must have been! You can hear the heartbreaking anguish in the man’s voice as he appeals to Jesus. You can feel it in your heart.

Without question, the disciples would have been moved by the father’s appeal when he first came to them. Without doubt, they had tried and tried again, but nothing had happened. How hard it must have been for the disciples to face this father and crowd desperately looking to them for help and face the fact that they were not able to do anything. It’s not like they hadn’t done it before. The Gospel record is very clear that Christ’s disciples cast out demons in his name while He was with them and after He ascended into heaven. But this time they were not able. That is simply the way that God works sometimes to teach us and deepen us in the truth.

Yes, that’s the way it works sometimes. Sometimes we are not able, even if we were able before or at another time. Some may object here that the boy was obviously suffering from some form of epilepsy—that the disciples were wrongly treating him as if he were possessed by a demon—and that’s why their exorcism didn’t work. But the Lord Jesus makes it clear that even if it was epilepsy, an unclean spirit was clearly behind it. Jesus casts out the demon and frees the boy from its power.
This is one of those places in Scripture, dear brothers and sisters in Christ. where it’s made clear for us that no matter what trouble there is in this world:whether it’s a sickness of the body, mind, spirit, or souldestructive weather like tornadoes, hurricanes, and drought, or even global pandemics, you can be certain the devil and his crew are at the root of all of it. Just because we can explain it by biology, climate science,  or other means of understanding the world in which we live doesn’t mean there’s not some evil spiritual force at work. The thought may frighten some or cause them to raise their eyebrows, but it shouldn’t for us, dearly loved by God. We know there is a real spiritual world and that Jesus is the Lord over it all, both good and bad.

For God sometimes leaves us unable in order to turn us from ourselves to faith in Christ.
The problem was not a misdiagnosis on the disciples’ part. Their problem was the same as the poor father’s when he stood before Jesus and said,:Mark 9:22 (NASB95)22 “It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”It was a problem of faith. As shocking as it may be to hear someone saying “If you can” to Jesus, it is understandable, given that His followers had just failed to help the man and his boy. It wasn’t the first time and wouldn’t be the last that the failures of Jesus’ followers would reflect on the Lord. Yes, there’s plenty of that going on, even in our day and age, isn’t there? And while you and I may never actually say “If you can” to the Lord out loud, we certainly live it out when we allow the troubles and trials that we face in this world to weigh us down and rob us of our peace and joy, as if we didn’t have a Lord and Savior in Jesus who can do all things.

Yes, the Lord’s good purpose in allowing us to face times when we are not able is to strengthen and deepen our faith in Him who is able—in Jesus. The Lord reveals this to the disciples when he answers their question about why they couldn’t cast the spirit out, and he says:Mark 9:29 (NASB95)29 And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”To be very clear here, Jesus is not telling the disciples that they needed to add something else to all their own efforts to make the exorcism work. Instead, He is in fact telling them to let their efforts go and cast themselves completely on the Lord and His strength. What the Lord showed them in all of this was that they were in fact not able, but that He was able to do all things through them.

But Christ most certainly can deal with everything in this sin-troubled world.This is about faith, as Jesus himself says to the boy’s father: 

Mark 9:23 (NASB95)

23 And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” Faith or believing, however, we have to understand, does not find its power in of itself. No, the power is always in faith’s object and faith’s object alone, in Jesus. The trust of my heart does not accomplish anything; it’s Jesus, in whom my heart trusts, who does it all. The Lord is not telling His disciples that if they commit their minds and hearts to something and then pray a whole lot about it, it will happen. No, what He is telling them to let it all go and leave it in His hands, in the truth that He is able, even when they are not.

The trouble with weak or little faith isn’t that I don’t trust Jesus, that I’m not able, or that I’m not up to the job, but the very fact that I don’t trust Jesus, that I think that He’s not able, that I think He’s not up to the job. With a weak faith, I trust in the wrong person (myself or somebody other than Christ) and in the wrong thing (my own strength). I believe! Help my unbelief!As the Lord in mercy helps the father and delivers his poor boy before our eyes in the Gospel today, He is at work to deepen and strengthen us in the truth that He is more than able to deal with anything and everything that we face in this sin-troubled world. He is at work to strengthen and grow the weak faith that lives in each of our poor sinful hearts by drawing our eyes away from ourselves and what we are not able to do to Him who can do and has done all things well.Summary statement: Christ Most Certainly Can Do What We Are Entirely Unable to Do.

Conclusion
We reflect on what Jesus says in verse 29 of our text this morning, which declares: Mark 9:29 And [Jesus] said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.” What is the Lord saying here? The Lord’s direction for us is that this kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer should not be taken as turning us to something within ourselves to solve the problem but rather as a direction to turn the problem over to Him. The call to prayer is a call not to a human work but rather to an empty-handed looking to the Lord to do what He alone can do. We do not accomplish anything through our prayers, but God does great things through them.Prayer is not so much an act on our part as much as it is a total letting go on our part. The Lord’s direction for us to pray is a call to turn to the Lord beforehand so that we may approach things not in our own strength but only vested in His power.

Christ furthers the work of His Word at the altar this morning as He comes to us in His body and blood, directing our eyes and hearts to the cross, where He won an eternal victory over sin, death, and hell for us with His bitter sufferings and death. Look on Him sweating in agony there, trying and trying for you until it was all finished. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, there is nothing undone lying at the foot of the cross.What we were not able to do He has accomplished. It is finished. Christ has done it all for you. He is more than able to take care of all things for you. Look upon the wounds in His hands and feet and His side today as He comes to you in His body and blood, and leave all your fears, worries, and cares in His most able and capable hands. Amen.

Let us pray:I hear the Savior say, “Thy strength indeed is small; Child of weakness, watch and pray, Find in Me thine all in all.”Refrain: Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I Whereby Thy grace to claim; I’ll wash my garments white In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb. Refrain: Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14 (NASB95)   

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,    and the love of God,    and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen. 
Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. 
All of us are waiting and none of us will be disappointed. Amen.
The Lord continue to bless us, shine His face on us, be gracious to us, that He lift His countenance upon us, and give us His peace. Amen.
In the Name of the Father…Amen.

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Reaching Out

We Are Not Here By Chance, and He Is Sending Us Out

Why are you trying to impress and curry favor with people of the world, with non-believers? Why do you care what they think of you? Of course you will receive flak. They attacked Christ and His disciples, so why should they not attack us as well? But don’t worry – He has our backs, and He will never leave us nor forsake us. They are defeated and we are victorious. We are on the winning side.

We are not here by chance, but for such a time as this (Esther 4:13-14). We are called, equipped, and sent forth into battle – spiritual battle, to reach the lost with His Truth, Love, and Compassion. We need to start the day on our knees before God, praying and feasting on His Word. Then we are to put on our spiritual armor (Ephesians 6), and go forth to reach those He brings across our path. When we surrender to Christ and seek His guidance, we will see the Holy Spirit work through us, bearing much spiritual fruit and even miracles.

We will only experience His Joy – the joy of the Lord, when we discern His will for our lives and carry it out with gladness in our hearts. So we need to stand strong, be bold, and be courageous. We are to be the man or woman He has called us to be, and speak His Word and His Truth with love and compassion.

He brings people into our lives for a reason and a season. We are to discern the reason (from the Holy Spirit), but typically we will not know the length of the season, for things are happening fast in the world, and we are not guaranteed tomorrow.

Time is short, and He is leading us on a great spiritual adventure. It is truly exciting, it is the most important thing we have ever done in our lives, and we will never be the same.

It is time for us to buckle up, go forth, and enjoy the ride. And then He will bring us home. God loves us more than we can imagine, and He can’t wait to welcome us home through the gates of heaven.

So let us go out with GODFIDENCE, walking and speaking as if God sent us, because He has!

To God be the glory

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Reaching Out

Great Questions Are Windows Into the Soul – PART VI – Life Purpose and Calling

Do you know your life purpose and calling? The apostle Paul speaks about this in his letter to the church at Ephesus:

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk
worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all
lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Ephesians 4:1-3

One of the most important things we can do is to help people identify our Lord’s calling upon their life. We can do this by asking them great questions.

This is continuing the series on how great questions can spark deeper conversations, because they are windows into the soul. The key is to know that any question should be followed by listening – really listening, and responding accordingly. We may only use a few of these questions in one setting, but they should be helpful as we seek to converse and witness to others. And always remember – we may just be planting spiritual seeds, but everyone has a story and
needs the Lord.

Great Questions
Do you know the Lord’s calling on your life – the unique and special purpose for which you were created? (We are not here by chance, but for such a time as this.)

Are you fulfilling His calling upon your life? If not, what is holding you back? SO WHAT?

Is it burdens you are carrying that you haven’t given over to the Lord? Is it unconfessed sin or an unwillingness to forgive another?

What are you holding on to from your past that you need to let go of so you can be spiritually clean and free to live life in the Spirit?

What is the most important message you would give to young people today?

How do you perceive other people? As possible friends? Lost souls? Potential brothers or sisters in the Lord?

What else would you like to say?

How can I help you? How can I pray for you?

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Reaching Out

Great Questions Are Windows Into the Soul – PART V: How is the Lord Working in Your Life?

The New Testament describes many instances in which the Holy Spirit directly intervened in the lives of the apostles, and promises that the Holy Spirit will teach, convict, comfort, and direct His people. Has anyone ever asked you “How is the Lord working in your life?” Have you ever asked this of anyone else? If they did, how do you think they would respond?

This is continuing the series on how great questions can spark deeper conversations, because they are windows into the soul. The key is to know that any question should be followed by listening – really listening – and responding accordingly. We may only use a few of these questions in one setting, but they should be helpful as we seek to converse and witness to others. And always remember – we may just be planting spiritual seeds, but everyone has a story and
needs the Lord.

Great Questions
Have you ever seen the hand of the Lord in your life or sensed His presence? When was it, and what was it like?

How is the Lord working in your life? What is He teaching you?

Do you realize that, as a Christian, the Holy Spirit dwells within you, and seeks a personal relationship with you?

How does that make you feel?

Do you believe we can discern the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit and be nurtured, convicted, taught, and guided by Him each day?

Do you look for the divine appointments God has for you each day?

Do you understand why God, who is a God of love, allows pain and suffering?

Which do you think is most likely to draw people to the Lord: worldly success or great trials and tribulation?

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Reaching Out

Great Questions Are Windows Into the Soul – PART IV – What Do You Think About God

Has anyone ever asked you “What do you think about God?” Have you ever asked this of anyone else? If they did, how do you think they would respond? This is continuing the series on how great questions can spark deeper conversations, because they are windows into the soul. “How Are You?” is a non-threatening way to start a conversation. “Who Are You?” goes deeper into one’s identity, and “What were the defining moments in your life?” asks about profound, watershed moments in your life. This question asks directly: “What do you think about God?”

The key is to know that any question should be followed by listening – really listening –  and responding accordingly. We may only use a few of these questions in one setting, but they should be helpful as we seek to converse and witness to others.   And always remember – we may just be planting spiritual seeds, but everyone has a story and needs the Lord.

Great Questions

When you die and pass through the veil of death into eternity, what do you think you will see and experience?  Does that make you afraid? Intrigued?  Excited?

If you visited heaven, what do you think you would find?

If you visited hell, what do you think you would find?

What do you think about God? Is He your friend?

What do you think He wants from you?

What do you want from Him?

How do you see Jesus?  What do you think it would have been like to be around Him when He walked on the earth?

Why do you think Jesus died on the cross?

Would you die on the cross for a family member? A friend? A stranger?

Do you spend time with the Lord in His Word and prayer every day?

Do you realize that reading the Bible is a divine encounter with the sovereign, living God of the universe?

Do you realize that worship in the body of Christ is also a divine encounter with God?

Do you pray daily? Constantly? What do you think that means to pray constantly?

Why do you think the Word of God says it is a narrow gate and difficult path which leads to eternal life in heaven and there are few that find it?

How can we stay on the narrow path?

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Reaching Out

Great Questions Are Windows Into the Soul – PART III

Has anyone ever asked you “What were the defining moments of your life?” If they did, how would you respond? This is continuing the series on how great questions can spark deeper conversations, because they are windows into the soul. The first article dealt with “How Are You?”, which is a non-threatening way to start a conversation. The next article asked “Who Are You?”, which goes deeper into one’s identity. And this one asks for more specifics regarding profound, watershed moments in your life: “What were the defining moments in your life?”

The key is to know that any question should be followed by listening – really listening –  and responding accordingly. We may only use a few of these questions in one setting, but they should be helpful as we seek to converse and witness to others.   And always remember – we may just be planting spiritual seeds, but everyone has a story and needs the Lord.

Great Questions

Have there been DEFINING MOMENTS – turning points in your life when you gained some new insight or experienced a radical change that changed the direction of your life? What were they?

Who has had the greatest positive impact on your life?

Do you realize that you can have or are having that kind of impact on other people? Who in particular? Who COULD you have that kind of impact on?

Do you have close friends you can call when your life is falling apart?

Do you have a small group of friends that you meet with on a regular basis to talk about life and death and God?

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Reaching Out

Great Questions Are Windows Into the Soul – PART II

Has anyone ever asked you “Who are you?” Have you ever asked someone “Who are you?” This is continuing the series on how great questions can spark deeper conversations, because they are windows into the soul. The first article dealt with “How Are You?”, which is a very friendly, non-threatening way to start a conversation. This article asks “Who Are You?”

The key is to know that any question should be followed by listening – really listening –  and responding accordingly. We may only use a few of these questions in one setting, but they should be helpful as we seek to converse and witness to others.   And always remember – we may just be planting spiritual seeds, but everyone has a story and needs the Lord.

Great Questions

Who are you and how did you end up here?

Everyone has a story. What is YOUR story? You can then tell them your story, and HIS (Jesus’s) story.

Is there a song, book, movie, or work of art that describes your life?

What would you wear to a costume party?

What story about yourself or your life experience DO YOU TELL THE MOST TO OTHERS?

What story about yourself or your life experience WOULD YOU LIKE TO TELL TO OTHERS?

Do you wear a mask in daily life? If so, what is it?

What happens when you take off the mask? How does it affect your relationship with others?

What social pressures or expectations from others make you uncomfortable?

What really makes you come alive?

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Reaching Out

Great Questions Are Windows Into the Soul – PART I

One of the greatest challenges for Christians is how to converse with other people about God. How can we take “nice” conversations to a deeper level that touches the other person’s soul, as well as our own, and provide an opportunity to share the love and truth of Christ with them? Realizing that a true conversation is an interchange between two or more people, this series will explore how go deeper by posing  questions. But any question should be followed by listening – really listening –  and responding accordingly. We may only use a few of these questions in one setting, but they should helpful as we seek to converse and witness to others.   And always remember – everyone has a story and needs the Lord.

How Are You?

How are you? Are you happy? Sad? Frustrated?

What is happening in your life?

What brings joy into your life?

Who or what has broken your heart? Is your heart still broken, or is it on the mend?

What is the cry in your soul at this time?

What are your aspirations – your dreams for the future?

What are you excited about?

Are you afraid of anything? If so, what?

What are you doing that nurtures your soul?

What are you most thankful for?

Would you mind if I prayed for you? How can I pray for you?

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Reaching Out

Memorial Day Salute to Our Fallen Veterans

As you know, this is the day for us to pause from our daily lives to reflect on and remember those who died for our country. And thank you to all of you who served our country in the military, and your spouses, for the service you have rendered to our country. We enjoy freedoms today because of your willingness and that of your colleagues to put your life on the life to protect our nation.

“Mansions of the Lord” is a majestic and compelling hymn that honors those who lost their lives in service to our country. It was sung with trumpet accompaniment at First Lutheran this past Sunday (May 26), and it was magnificent. You can also see it performed by the West Point Band and West Point Glee Club here (https://tinyurl.com/MansionsoftheLord) You can follow along with the lyrics:

Mansions of the Lord

To fallen soldiers let us sing
Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing
Our broken brothers let us bring
To the Mansions of the Lord

No more bleeding, no more fight
No prayers pleading through the night
Just divine embrace, Eternal light
In the Mansions of the Lord

Where no mothers cry and no children weep
We will stand and guard though the angels sleep
All through the ages safely keep
The Mansions of the Lord

Our nation faces many grave challenges, so let us pray that our leaders will make wise decisions, to keep us safe and from harm.

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Sermon

Sermon for 05.05.24 “Love God, love one another”

EASTER 6, May 5, 2024
Text: John 15:9–17
Theme: Love God, love one another
Other Lessons: Acts 10:34–48; Psalm 98; 1 John 5:1–8

(A) In the Name of the Father…Amen.
(B) The Gospel lesson serves as our sermon text for this morning.
(C) Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God our heavenly Father through
His Son and our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
(D) Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:

Gracious and Loving God, we gather in Your presence today, drawn by the
words of Jesus in John 15, where He calls us to abide in His love, just as
He abides in Your love.
We are grateful for this divine love, a love so profound that it transcends
understanding, a love that calls us friends rather than servants because
Jesus has made known to us everything that You have told Him.
Lord, we acknowledge the beauty and depth of this relationship, rooted in
love and chosen by You.
We thank You for choosing us to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and
for the promise that whatever we ask in Jesus’ name, You will give us.
Help us to embody this love not only in our words but through our actions,
living out the commandment Jesus gave us: to love each other as He has
loved us.
In our worship today, remind us of the sacrificial love of Christ, who laid
down His life for us, so that we might live through Him.
May this truth resonate deeply in our hearts and inspire us to love others
sacrificially and generously.
Teach us to maintain our connection to Jesus, the true vine, so that our
lives might be fruitful, reflecting Your grace and truth in all that we do.
Lord, as we continue in prayer, fellowship, and worship this day,
strengthen our commitment to live out this commandment of love.
Help us to be bearers of Your peace, agents of Your grace, and witnesses to
Your transformative love.
May our community be a reflection of the love that You have poured out on
us, and may our relationships be marked by the selflessness and joy that
comes from abiding in You.
We ask these things in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, who with You
and the Holy Spirit reigns forever in perfect unity and love. Amen.

Introduction

(A) Our text for this morning is right in the middle of Jesus’ farewell
message to his disciples, John 13–17, which makes His words extraordinary.
(1) For in just a few hours, Jesus will experience betrayal, abandonment,
and unlawful arrest.
(2) Then He will experience cruel abuse and execution.
(3) Yet Jesus speaks of both His and the Father’s love.
(4) This is especially noticeable in the use of the Greek noun for love
(ἀγάπη) four times and the verb for love (ἀγαπάω) five times in the text.
(B) In last Sunday’s Gospel from John 15:1–8), Jesus spoke of his
relationship with his disciples and with us using the vine-branches
analogy.
(1) He is the vine; we are the branches.
(2) The branches cannot exist without connection to the vine.
(3) In today’s text, Jesus expands on this analogy, specifically pointing
out the relationships of Jesus and the Father, Jesus and the disciples, and
the disciples to one another.
(4) And each of these relationships consists of each one loving the other.
(5) So that’s the focus of Jesus’ message to us today too.
(6) Our text teaches us that The Love of Christ Compels Us to Love.
(I) We fail to keep Christ’s command to love.
(A) We all know how sweet love is, but Jesus also gives us a command to
love:
John 15:9–10, 12, 16 (NASB95)
9 “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My
love.
10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have
kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved
you.
John 15:16 (NASB95)
16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would
go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you
ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.
(1) How well do we fit these descriptions?
(B) How are you doing with these commandments?
Jesus says:
John 15:10 (NASB95)
10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have
kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
(1) Because of our sinful nature, we break the commandments continuously
and constantly, so how could we possible abide in his love?
(2) Each one of us has our pet sins:
(a) Thoughts of lust
(b) Harsh words
(c) Violent temper
(C) Using Jesus’ analogy, as branches, how connected are we to the vine?
(1) Only when it is convenient for us, when it fits our schedule?
(D) How can we abide in his love if that connection is weak?
(1) We hardly love others as we are loved by Christ.
(2) We live in a world where the mindset is“after me, you first” prevails.
(3) Are we bearing abiding fruit?
(4) Jesus says to “go and bear fruit,” which might indicate the intention
to witness to others so that they may come to faith in Christ.
(5) That’s one of the most important ways we can love our neighbor.
(6) How evident is that fruit of yours?
(E) Jesus’ words certainly do not describe those who are unbelievers, those
branches who are cut off from the vine.
(1) Apart from faith in Christ, we are all spiritually blind, spiritually
dead, and enemies of God
2 Corinthians 4:4 (NASB95)
4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the
unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory
of Christ, who is the image of God.
Ephesians 2:1 (NASB95)
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
Romans 5:10 (NASB95)
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death
of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His
life.
(2) We all inherited this sinful nature from Adam and Eve.
(3) Because of this and the resulting actual sins of which we are guilty,
we deserve both physical death and eternal punishment in hell.
(F) We have all failed to keep Jesus’ command to love.
(II) But in that same love Christ calls us to repent and forgives us.
(A) Christ does not want us to perish spiritually and eternally, and in
love He calls us to repent.
(1) When we do repent, it is by God enabling us.
(2) He warns us by His Law—like the words we just heard—but then He makes
His loving purpose immediately evident as well.
(B) The Augsburg Confession teaches:
(1) True repentance is nothing else than to have contrition and sorrow, or
terror, on account of sin, and yet at the same time to believe the Gospel
and absolution (namely, that sin has been forgiven and grace has been
obtained through Christ), and this faith will comfort the heart and again
set it at rest. (AC XII 3–5, Tappert, German)
(C) When we repent, then God forgives us of our sinful nature and all of
our actual sins.
(1) He forgives us for the sake of Jesus Christ.
(2) How does He do that?
(3) By inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul writes:
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB95)
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might
become the righteousness of God in Him.
(4) Sin was destroyed at Calvary even as Christ carried all of it for all
of mankind in His own body.
(5) At the cross, Jesus is your substitute.
(6) He suffered and died in your place to pay the penalty for your sins and
satisfy the wrath of God.
(7) And every Sunday we proclaim the Easter message that Jesus rose again
from the dead, victorious over sin, Satan and death, bringing us new life
in the face of death.
(8) And so forgiveness, life, and salvation are available through faith in
Christ Jesus.
John 15:13 (NASB95)
13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his
friends.
(9) Christ has proved His great love for us by laying down His life for us,
and now He declares us His friends!
(III) Then Christ’s love transforms us to love too.
(A) Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord has declared us:
(1) to be forgiven of our sins,
(2) saved from death and the fire of hell,
(3) and given the gift of living eternally in heaven with Him.
(B) Yet even more than all that, the love of Christ is transformational.
(1) The evidence of faith in Christ is seen in the changes that take place
in our lives.
(2) Scripture uses words like:
(a) born again,
(b) rebirth,
(c) regeneration,
(d) renewal,
(e) and transformation to describe what Christ’s love does to us.
(3) We are not only free from sin and the effects of sin, but we are free
also from the power of sin.
(4) We are thus:
(a) free to keep His commandments,
(b) free to abide in His love,
(c) and free to bear abiding fruit—that is, free to witness, as Peter
proclaims in today’s First Reading:
Acts 10:43 (NASB95)
43 “Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who
believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”
(C) The Augsburg Confession declares:
(1) “sin has been forgiven and grace has been obtained through Christ.”
(2) It goes on to say:
(a) “Amendment of life and the forsaking of sin should then follow” (AC XII
6, Tappert, German).
(b) When we have been loved by Christ’s forgiveness, we love too.
(D) In order to strengthen and increase our faith, love, and obedience, God
gives us the Means of Grace, his Word and Sacraments.
(1) The Word of God transforms us as it’s:
(a) read,
(b) spoken,
(c) expounded upon,
(d) and prayed individually and in groups as in this Divine Service.
(2) The Word of God connected to the water of Holy Baptism drowns the old
Adam and raises us to a new life of love.
(3) The Word of God in Holy Absolution gives comfort and consolation in
having the forgiveness of sins applied personally and individually.
(4) The Word of God together with bread and wine nourishes us for living
lives of God’s love with the true body and true blood of Christ given and
shed for us.
(5) Obedience to God’s command to love does not earn His love, but rather
it is evidence that flows from God’s love applied to us individually in
these Means of Grace.
(6) As we heard in today’s Epistle:
1 John 5:3 (NASB95)
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His
commandments are not burdensome.

Conclusion

(A) In Book Two of the classic Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien,
there’s a critical and striking scene.
(1) The “Company of the Ring,” consisting of four hobbits, a dwarf, an elf,
and three men, one of whom is a wizard named Gandalf, are in the dark halls
of the Mines of Moria.
(2) They make their way to an exit gate across the dangerously narrow stone
Bridge of Khazad-Dûm.
(3) Here they encounter a Balrog, a menacing creature of fire and shadow.
(4) So that his partners might escape, Gandalf, the wizard, stands on the
bridge between his companions and the Balrog.
(5) He calls out to the creature that it cannot pass.
(6) The creature then jumps on the bridge with him.
(7) Gandalf strikes the bridge with his staff, and the bridge cracks and
breaks, causing the Balrog to fall off into the abyss.
(8) But as it does, it snaps its whip, which catches Gandalf around the
knees, dragging him off the bridge into the deep chasm.
(B) There are many more examples in history and literature of loving so
much as to give one’s life for a friend.
(1) But no sacrifice comes near that of Christ’s love for us!
(2) As we learned during the Lenten season:
Romans 5:8, 10 (NASB95)
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us.
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death
of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His
life.
(C) Our sermon text for this morning began with Jesus saying:
John 15:9 (NASB95)
9 “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.
(1) Jesus spoke all the words of today’s Gospel so that His joy may be in
us and that our joy may be full.
(2) Indeed, we ought to rejoice while abiding in His great love!
(D) Later on in our text for this morning, Jesus also said:
John 15:13 (NASB95)
13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his
friends.
(1) That is exactly what Jesus did for us on the cross!
(2) Thanks to be God that our heavenly Father loved us so much that He sent
His Son to die to save us!
(3) May we love others as He has loved us! Amen.
(E) Let us pray:
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word that speaks so powerfully into
our lives.

Thank You for the assurance that as Your children, born of God, we have the
victory through our faith in Jesus Christ.
Help us to embody this faith in every aspect of our lives, loving You and
Your commandments, and loving each other as You have loved us.
Lord, strengthen us by Your Spirit to overcome the challenges of this
world, holding fast to the truth of Jesus who came by water and blood.
May this truth resonate deeply within us, guiding us in all our actions and
decisions.
As we depart from this place, keep us steadfast in our faith and fervent in
love, that we may be true witnesses of Your grace and power in the world.
We ask all this in the precious name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Amen.
Hebrews 13:20–21 (NASB95)
20 Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of
the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord,
21 equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which
is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
In the Name of the Father…Amen.