First Lutheran Church of Little Rock

*Sermon for 01.16.22 Epiphany 2 Text: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 Theme: How the
Holy Spirit helps us *

• *In the Name of the Father…Amen.*

• *The Epistle reading serves as our sermon text this morning.*

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

• *Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:*

• *O Holy Spirit, enter in,*

• *And in our hearts Your work begin, *

• *Your dwelling place now make us.*

• *Sun of the soul, O Light divine,*

• *Around and in us brightly shine, *

• *To joy and gladness wake us *

• *That we may be *

• *Truly living, *

• *To You giving *

• *Prayer unceasing*

• *And in love be still increasing.Amen*

*Text: Public domain*

• *Introduction*

• *On December 12, 1980, a small startup company called Apple first
became a public corporation and began offering its very first shares of
stock. *

• *In the business world, this is referred to as an **“**initial public
offering**”** and requires a lot of documents to be filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission to protect the interests of those
investing in the new company.*

• *One such document required is a full disclosure of any foreseeable
weaknesses or problems as the new corporation**’**s goods or services go to
market. *

• *Here is what Steve Jobs, one of the founders of Apple, disclosed as a
**“**foreseeable weakness**”** for the company. *

• *(Keep in mind this was over forty years ago.) *

• *“**The expansion of the personal computer market will require a
continued orientation effort directed at informing individuals of the means
by which the computer may be utilized to enhance personal efficiency and
productivity. Towards this end, the Company is committed to an extensive
advertising and promotional effort**”** (Apple Computer IPO, US Securities
and Exchange Commission, Public Domain, December 1980).*

• *Simply put, this is what Steve Jobs meant:*

qAt that time, the founders of Apple Computer, now one of the largest and
most successful corporations in the world, were concerned that no one would
have any use for their product!

qIn those early days, personal computers were considered more of a novelty
and not a necessity, and it would take many years before the world would
fully realize their potential, making them an integral component of our
human existence.

qIt is strange to consider that there was a time when our society had to be
informed as to the usefulness of something most of us would feel helpless
without today.

• *Our Epistle this morning, 1 Cor 12:1**–**11, begins with the
sentence: *

q“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be
uninformed” (verse 1).

• *Though we frequently talk about the Third Person of the Trinity, the
Holy Spirit, we may wonder:*

q“What does he really do?

qWhat does he help us achieve?”

• *Here we find one of the many texts in which St. Paul explains How
Empowered the Church Is by the Holy Spirit!**—**Without Whom We Truly Are
Helpless.*

•
* I. The Spirit is at work in many **“**things**”** we may not see as
very spiritual.*

• *To begin with, 1 Cor 12:1 does not literally speak of spiritual **“*
*gifts,**”** but simply states that Paul is informing us of ton
pneumatikon, **“**spiritual things,**”** that is, the work of the Spirit in
everyday Christian life.*

qSt. Paul is informing the Christians in Corinth about the amazing
usefulness of what they have been given, through their Baptism, in the
divine person of the Holy Spirit.

• *Looking at verses 4**–**6, we find the work of the Holy Spirit rather
broadly described as gifts, services, and activities. *

qBeyond sharing the same origin, what these all have in common is that all
are the work of the Divine but are miraculously accomplished through
fragile human hands and miraculously proclaimed through imperfect human
speech.

qThis is how the child of faith thrives from day to day, loving and serving
the neighbor.

qWhether it is using wisdom or knowledge, or the healing of body or mind,
or the translation of foreign language, whether astonishing or mundane in
form or appearance, this is the work of the Holy Spirit in the daily life
of the Christian believer.

• *This is how we love our neighbor. *

• *This is the Christian vocation. *

• *Luther summarizes this in his commentary on Genesis: *

• “We all have one and the same God, and we are one in the unified
worship of God, even if our works and vocations are different. But each one
should do his duty in his station, even as Jacob is a saintly and spiritual
man meditating on God’s Law, praying, administering and governing the
church. In the meantime, however, he does not overlook lowly domestic
duties connected with the fields and the flocks, and this is set before us
as an example that we may know that all our actions in domestic life are
pleasing to God and that they are necessary for this life in which it
becomes each one to serve the one God and Lord of all according to one’s
ability and vocation” (AE 6:348).

• *Vocations are the everyday services, activities, and words of us
Christians expressed through our daily interactions with our neighbors and
given as gifts from God. *

• *Peter in his first letter writes:*

• “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good
stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles
of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in
order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1
Peter 4:10–11).

• *Sometimes our vocations seem very **“**spiritual**”** in nature from
a human viewpoint, such as evangelism, church work, or caring for the poor,
but other vocations may not appear to have any spiritual connection
whatsoever. *

• *Some vocational tasks are hard to see as spiritual, such as the
person repairing our car, the attorney in the courtroom, doing laundry, or
the parents getting completely exasperated with their child for not going
to bed when they should.*

• * The truth of the matter is that the Holy Spirit is at work through
all human actions and words, however mundane or majestic they appear to our
finite eyes. *

• *All of these services, words, and activities, assuming they do not
violate the Word of God, are part of the Holy Spirit**’**s work toward our
neighbor proclaiming that, **“**Jesus is Lord**”** (verse 3).*

•
* II. The Spirit**’**s work is always relational, never reductive.*

• *Unfortunately, Satan likes to deceive the human heart whenever
possible and will take advantage of every opportunity to focus our hearts
and minds on the spirit of **“**me**”** rather than the Spirit of God. *

• *In our text, St. Paul reminds us of what true **“**spiritual things*
*”** look like as opposed to empty, human effort.*

• *In several places within 1 Corinthians 12:1**–**11, St. Paul
reminds us that the work of the Spirit is always relational and is never
seen as individualistic. *

• *In recent church history, many have struggled with the concept of *
*“**spiritual gifts,**”** primarily because of an improper emphasis on
individual identity and personal attention.*

• *The temptation to be a **“**God-like**”** individual has been biting
at our heels from the very beginning. *

• *According to our current text, and the rest of the New Testament,
truly **“**spiritual**”** gifts are not focused on a particular individual*
*’**s ability, but they are instead relational, one part of a larger whole.*

q“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good”
(verse 7).

• *We see this communicated through the relational comparisons of
**“**varieties
but one**”** in verse 5 or **“**to each but common**”** in verse 7 and
**“**individually
but one**”** in verse 11. *

• *The mention in verses 4**–**6 of the Spirit, Lord, and God, while
not literally using the terms Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, should at least
remind us of the distinctly three, but fully one, relational nature of God
in the Trinity. *

• *We are also told that, from the beginning, the relational nature of
God as Trinity was reflected in his creation. *

• *The first human being was incomplete while alone. *

• *We were created in and for relationship with God and one another,
originally from the dust and, later, as new creations through Baptism,
together becoming the Body of the Church.*

q “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have
the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and
individually members one of another” (Romans 12:4–5).

• *The day-to-day work of the Holy Spirit through our human hands is
not an individual effort; it is each of us playing one part of a much
greater whole. *

• *When we reduce the work of the Holy Spirit to the individual alone,
we are destined for disappointment.*

•
*III. And you play the part, but the Spirit provides the power.*

• *Lastly, this morning**’**s Epistle makes it very clear that you
play the part, but the Spirit provides the power.*

• *Verses 6 and 11 declare: *

q “It is the same God who empowers them all in everyone,” and “all these
are empowered by one and the same Spirit.”

q While it is true that your services, your activities, and your words are “
yours,” we must never forget that the power which accomplishes anything
through them is fully the Lord’s.

q Verse 3 tells us that even our ability to proclaim “Jesus is Lord” is the
work of the Holy Spirit as the Word creates faith.

• *(Apology to the Augsburg Confession V 4)**: **“**Therefore, when we
have been justified by faith and regenerated, we begin to fear and love
God, to pray to Him, to expect aid from Him, to give thanks and praise Him,
and to obey Him in times of suffering. We also begin to love our neighbors,
because our hearts have spiritual and holy movements.**”*

• *In distinction, verse 2 speaks of those who are being led to serve
dead idols and empty outcomes with the description **“**however you were
led,**”* *that is, by something other than the Holy Spirit. *

• *Whether it is desire, anger, envy, or some other emotional drive,
human power only produces dead work. *

• *If it is spiritual work, it must be spiritually powered.*

• *There are laws that require mothers and fathers to care for their
children. *

• *While it is true that there are sad occasions in which these laws are
invoked to protect children from parents who abandon them, is this why you
provide care for your children? Simply because it**’**s the law?*

• *Imagine the amount of psychological damage it would inflict if we
knew that the only reason our parents took care of us was because they felt
forced to do so under some law. *

qIs that the reason you feed your family?

qIs that why you overspent your budget during Christmas on their presents?

qIs that why you couldn’t sleep every time you worried about whether you
made the right parenting decision?

• *The power of parenting and every other vocation under the call of
Christ is empowered by something far beyond any earthly punishment or
reward. *

• *It is empowered by the Holy Spirit and given to us through the faith
created by the Word of God through our Baptism.*

• *Conclusion*

• *Most important, if our work is truly of the Holy Spirit, powered by
him and not ourselves, the ultimate outcome will reflect the source, that *
*“**Jesus is Lord.**”*

• *Thus the words of this morning**’**s Old Testament Reading ring
true:*

q “The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your
glory” (Isaiah
62:2).

• *Do not be uninformed. *

• *The Holy Spirit is at work in all of us who believe; we are helpless
without him. *

• *But with him, serving together as the Body of Christ, we shall see
the world made new in Christ. *

• *We shall see marvelous things, both now and for eternity. In the
name of Jesus. Amen.*

• *Let us pray:*

• *Lord, Give to Your Word impressive pow’r,*

• *That in our hearts from this good hour *

• *As fire it may be glowing,*

• *That in true Christian unity*

• *We faithful witnesses may be, *

• *Your glory ever showing. *

• *Hear us, cheer us *

• *By Your teaching; *

• *Let our preaching *

• *And our labor*

• *Praise You, Lord, and serve our neighbor. Amen.*

• *The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.*

• *In the Name of the Father…Amen.*

*Sermon for 01.09.22 Baptism of our Lord Text: Luke 3:15-22 Theme: The
paradox of progress*

*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 Father through our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.*
– *Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:*
– *Thanks and praise be unto You, our God and Lord, for sending us the
Gospel of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in which You teach us the way of
salvation and comfort us with the hope of everlasting life. *
– *Make Your Word in us a power of salvation, and the anchor of our
souls in life and death. *
– *Cause also the voice of Your Word to be sounded abroad, that the
nations that do not know You may come to Your light. Amen.*

– *Introduction*
– *The fifth-century BC mathematician and philosopher Zeno of Elea was
known for his paradoxical thought experiments which questioned human
assumptions of physical reality. *
– To paraphrase one such experiment: Zeno proposes that we imagine the
common experience of walking across a typical street.
– Further imagine that, in doing so, after our first step, we are
required to limit each further step to one half of the distance of the
previous step.
– In this way, let us imagine that our first step gets us two feet
closer to the other side, the second step moves us forward, but only one
foot closer, and the subsequent step another six inches closer to our goal.
– The paradox occurs as we realize that the distance of our previous
steps can be halved infinitely in ever more smaller movements.
– In other words, Zeno is observing the possibility of constant, forward
motion that never arrives at a destination.
– Zeno’s paradox has us always moving, seemingly making progress, but
never getting anywhere, of going nowhere fast.

– Have you ever felt this way in life—and maybe as you think ahead to
eternity?
– Do you ever wonder if you’ll ever get where you want—or need—to go?
– Wouldn’t you like to know if There Is a Solution to the Paradox of
Progress, rather than the destination eluding us eternally?

*I. We are People in a Predicament against reaching our destination. *

– *In our Gospel this morning, our eyes are directed to the crowds on
the banks of the Jordan River, described as **“**people in expectation,*
*”** a people waiting for something to happen. *
– These expectant Israelites would likely appreciate the frustration
found in Zeno’s thought experiment, as they, too, were people who, for
generations, moved a lot (both figuratively and literally) but never seemed
to get where they truly desired to be.
– *The crowds on Jordan**’**s banks, these people in expectation, were
also People in a Predicament. *
– They felt held back by the oppression of Caesar and the Roman Empire.
– They felt held back by the abuses of their own local government, Herod
the tetrarch after Herod the Great.
– These local kings, instead of being valuable advocates to their
people, were murderous tyrants, using their subjects to further their own
selfish interests.
– And as if Roman rule and its puppets weren’t bad enough, John tells
these weary people that their own national heritage, their earthly
descendancy from the mighty Abraham, would also get them nowhere.
– Heaven certainly appeared closed on this day.

– *This was a frustrating predicament that had existed for thousands of
years. *
– It began when the first humans trusted that human knowledge, rather
than trust in their Creator, would get them where they wanted to be.
– They quickly learned that having one’s “eyes opened” apart from God
was not the epiphany they expected but rather quite deadly.
– From the dependence on human knowledge came the belief that we could
move forward if we just had enough rules and regulations to get us there.
– Humanity got plenty of both, but quickly realized they could not
follow them, even when engraved in stone by God himself.
– Then later, it was thought that having a strong human leader, a wise,
generous king, would certainly get people where they wanted to go.
– But again, failure.

– This was truly a distressing predicament.
– Knowledge had failed them.
– Rules had failed them.
– Government had failed them.
– These people had a history of movement and change that had gotten them
nothing except captivity.
– The destination of heaven was closed, a predicament not just theirs
but one also shared by the entire human race.
– Especially in our own troubled days, we identify with the predicament
and weary frustration of the Israelite people on the shores of the Jordan
River.
– We have seen and heard, firsthand, the failure of human knowledge,
human rules, and human government to bring us to the destination we seek.
– We, too, are People in a Predicament, endlessly moving, but never
getting anywhere.

– *II. The real Problem is our Powerlessness to cross the infinite with
the finite.*
– *This predicament has existed since the time of the fall, but the
deeper and ongoing Problem is our Powerlessness to do anything about it. *
– And worse, we stubbornly refuse even to admit we have a problem, to
realize that we are powerless to reach the destination.
– After all, we’re moving forward, in the right direction?
– Making progress, right?
– Just a little more and we’ll be there, right?
– *In verse 15 of our text, the crowds turn their eyes to John the
Baptizer, thinking that this amazing man might be their solution, sinful
human though he was. *
– *John, however, in verse 16, quickly dispels this notion by
recognizing his own powerlessness, his unworthiness even to untie the
simple strap of the sandals of the real Savior.*

– *Herein lies the problem that keeps us in our predicament: our failure
to accept our powerlessness. *
– In Zeno’s experiment, we find endless motion without a destination
because we are trying to cross the finite distance to the other side of the
street with the infinite divisibility of the steps.
– The problem reminds us of the expectant Israelites on the banks of the
Jordan and of fallen humanity throughout the ages.
– Except that here the finite has no means of accessing, achieving, or
even comprehending an infinite that, instead of dividing, *multiplies*
the distance between us and the destination.
– Our Lord explains in the Gospel of John:
– “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of
the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6).

– *A broken, sinful human being is powerless to create anything from
within itself that is not already there. *
– That’s our problem.
– In other words, the dinner you make is limited by the ingredients you
have.
– If we expect a greater-than-human solution from the ingredients of
human knowledge, human rules, human politics, human ability, we will always
be disappointed, always moving but never getting anywhere fast.

*III. But Jesus**’** Baptism**—**and our Baptism**—**is the Provider of
true Progress.*

– *But do not despair. *
– *Everything changes in verse 21 of our text: *
– “When Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were
opened.”
– The heavens are opened!
– The destination is in sight!
– Everything that broken humanity has longed for since the expulsion
from Eden has been made accessible.
– For the first time since the fall and for all time evermore, the
destination is reachable.
– The Son of God, fully human, yet fully divine, in future time and
timelessly crucified and risen from the dead, enters the waters of Baptism.
– In this man, the finite and the infinite are miraculously and
incomprehensibly made into one.
– “And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am
well pleased’ ” (verse 22).

– *Jesus Christ is now revealed, by the Father**’**s own voice, to be
the only perfect, infinite human worthy of the perfect, infinite
destination, because he is the Creator of that destination. *
– Heaven is open to Christ because it belongs to him.
– *Jesus**’** Baptism provides the same progress for us. *
– How?
– How does Jesus’ Baptism end our predicament?
– It does so because the Son of God, as the Word, in a miraculous way,
remains in the water of Baptism.
– He enters the water for all time so that he might meet us in our
Baptism.

– *In the water of our Baptism, our failed humanity is killed with
Christ upon the cross*
– In that same water, Christ provides the life-giving Holy Spirit, who
creates the faith which receives infinite life.
– “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ
Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by
baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life”
(Romans 6:3–4).
– In the water of our Baptism, the infinite Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
has, from outside our reality, reached in and miraculously joined us to
himself.
– “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ”
(Gal 3:27).
– Rejoice! You have received what you could not yourself achieve, for in
your Baptism, the power of God’s Son, his Word, has brought the
destination down to you, granting you the assurance of heaven, even as you
admit your powerlessness.

– This idea of power in powerlessness reminds me of one of my earliest
memories with my kids, as they would ride on my foot as little children.
– Did you ever do this?
– From when they were toddlers, so young that they could barely walk
without falling, I have such happy memories of placing them on my
comparatively, giant foot, while they held tightly to my leg.
– We would then walk around the house while they squealed with joy.
– For a moment, they became one with me.
– They could walk as I walked, do what I did, because they had become a
part of me.
– I would eventually pry them off my tired foot, but for a brief time,
they could go anywhere and do anything, despite their own limitations.

– *Conclusion*
– *Even more confidence can be found in our Baptism. *
– Jesus’ Baptism—and our Baptism—is the Provider of true Progress.
– Yes, we confess that we are powerless to solve the problems that lead
to our predicament, but in the water of our Baptism, we, the powerless,
have been joined to our crucified and risen Creator, not briefly, but
forever.
– Contrary to all earthly appearances, despite our endless failures, we
rejoice in this tangible assurance that our predicament has ended, our
problem has been solved, and the means to arrive at our heavenly
destination, long hoped for, true progress, has been provided.
– *“**Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you
are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through
the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you
shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord
your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior**”** (Is 43:1**–**3).
Amen.*

– *Let us pray:*
– *All that I am and love most dearly— *
– *Receive it all, O Lord, from me. *
– *Let me confess my faith sincerely; *
– *Help me Your faithful child to be! *
– *Let nothing that I am or own Serve any will but Yours alone.*
– *Text: Public domain (LSB 590)*
– *Amen.*

– *The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.*
– *In the Name of the Father…Amen.*

*Sermon for 01.02.22 2nd Sunday after Christmas Text: Ephesians 1:3-14
Theme: God loves YOU dearly!*

*In the Name of the Father…Amen.*

*The Epistle lesson serves as our sermon text for this morning.*

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

*Prayer*

*Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:*

*God loves me dearly, Grants me salvation,*

*God loves me dearly, Loves even me. *

*Therefore I’ll say again: God loves me dearly, God loves me dearly, Loves
even me. *

*I was in slav’ry, Sin, death, and darkness;*

*God’s love was working To make me free. *

*Therefore I’ll say again: God loves me dearly, God loves me dearly, Loves
even me. *

*Text: Public domain*

*Introduction*

*Dear brothers and sisters of Christ Jesus: How much does God love you? *

*Have you ever pondered that thought? *

*God loves each one of you dearly. *

*The Father loves you so much that he sent his only-begotten Son, born of
the Virgin Mary, to be your Savior. *

*Jesus loves you so much that he willingly shed his blood for you so that
your sins might be paid for and you could receive forgiveness of those sins
and life eternal through faith in him. *

*The Holy Spirit loves you so much that he comes to you and works through
the waters of Baptism and the Word of God to change you from an enemy of
God into a lover and disciple of the only God, the Holy Trinity, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit.*

*By the power of the Holy Spirit, St. Paul wrote the words of our sermon
text. Paul wrote these words to assure troubled hearts and to show the
wonderful wisdom and grace of our God. He teaches us that*

*God Loves You Dearly . . . and Has from All Eternity!*

*Paul wrote: **“**Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly
places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that
we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for
adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose
of his will**”** (verses 3**–**5, emphasis added).*

*1. **The heavenly Father loves you from all eternity.*

*Consider how dearly we are loved by God. *

*St. Paul tells us that the heavenly Father blesses us in Christ Jesus with
every spiritual blessing. *

*It is amazing to consider that God loved us so much that he sent his
only-begotten Son so that whoever believes in him as their Savior will
receive eternal life.*

*All of us need forgiveness of our sins and eternal life. *

*Is there a person who can truly say that he or she has:*

never thought an unkind thing,

never said an unkind word,

and always has acted in ways that were pleasing to God?

*Even in this season of Christmas, we struggle with selfishness. *

*We are much more willing to be the recipients of gifts than to be the
giver of gifts. *

*Our tempers are expressed more than we like, when holiday guests disrupt
our routines or the situations of celebration cause us to be stressed. *

*In short, our sinful self is always ready to show itself in our actions,
thoughts, and words. *

*The awful reality is that we all have fallen short of the glory of God. *

*We all earn with our sins the wages of death. *

*This is only physical death being spoken of but, more important, also
eternal. *

*Every one of us must confess that he or she has not obeyed the
commandments of God perfectly and needs to be forgiven. *

*We all must understand that we are not able to earn our way to heaven. *

*We simply cannot do enough good works to cover over our many sins. *

*In fact, if we try to earn our salvation by way of God**’**s Law, we must
obey it perfectly, and not one of us has done that. *

*What are we to do? Who will save us?*

*The joyous message of Paul is this:*

God, before the creation of the world, before our creation, considered
carefully how to save us.

And the way that God determined that we were to be saved was in his Son,
Jesus Christ.

The heavenly Father predestined us to be adopted as his sons and daughters
so that, through faith in Christ Jesus, we are indeed children of the
heavenly Father.

We are heirs of God’s kingdom!

*This is not simply a general proclamation of God**’**s grace but rather it
is a personal one as well. *

God loves *you*. He calls *you* by name. His plan of salvation is for *you*
personally, even as it is for all the elect of God. Rejoice in how dearly
God loves you!

*2. Jesus the Son loves you from all eternity.*

*Jesus, who is God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, loves you so
dearly that he willingly became a man. *

*He was born of the Virgin Mary. *

*Thus Jesus was born without sin. *

*And as a man, Jesus lived perfectly under the Law of God so that he might
obey it as you and I have not obeyed it. *

*Jesus loves you and me so dearly that he willingly took our sins, in fact
the sins of the whole lot of mankind, and carried them to the cross of
Calvary. *

*Upon the cross, in obedience to the Law of God, Jesus died. *

*God says that the wages of sin is death and the soul that sins shall
surely die.*

*In order to fulfill the Law of God, Jesus allowed himself to be hung on
that cross. *

*Jesus died on the cross in order that he might redeem us with his blood
shed and his body broken. *

*Jesus once and for all time paid the price of:*

* your sins, *

*my sins, *

*and the whole of mankind**’**s sins. *

*Jesus didn**’**t remain in the grave but rose again on the third day
victorious over sin, Satan, and death. *

*He thereby assures us that all has been completed on behalf of our
salvation. *

*Paul reminds us that this plan of salvation was in place even before we
breathed our first breath.*

*3. The Holy Spirit loves you from all eternity.*

Jesus and the Father send the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit,
to work through the Word and Sacra­ments to call unbelievers into true
faith and to sustain them in the true faith.

It is God’s desire that all people be brought into saving faith.

*We know this is his will from so many passages that point it out. *

*For example: *

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people”
(Titus 2:11).

“This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who
desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”
(1 Timothy 2:3–4).

And last but not least, “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for
ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).

*St. Paul, in our sermon text for this morning, reminds us that the Holy
Spirit called each of us to faith, and that the Holy Spirit, comes and
dwells with us. *

*The Holy Spirit changes us by enabling us to have:*

*a new heart,*

*A new mind, *

*A new desire, *

*and a new will to do the will of God. *

*In other words, the Holy Spirit leads us to strive to serve God and our
neighbor above ourselves. *

*The best way that we can serve our neighbors who are Christians is to
encourage them in their faith. *

*The best way that we can serve our unbelieving neighbors is to invite and
bring them to church so that they might hear the message of salvation in
Christ Jesus.*

*Conclusion*

*And when we find that we have fallen and sinned against God**’**s holy
will, which happens daily, the same Holy Spirit enables us to repent of our
sin and strive once again to walk according to God**’**s will. *

*See how much God loves us dearly. *

*He doesn**’**t leave us without a guarantee of our salvation. *

*The Holy Spirit is the guarantor of our eternal inheritance. *

*He is the one who leads us to true faith and enables us to receive the
wonderful blessings of God, blessings which God determined to give us
before the creation of the world.*

*Here is a question that may be impossible to answer: *

How wide is the door to heaven?

This is the kind of question that stumps first year seminary students and
those that are intellectually curious.

Well, how wide is the door to heaven?

“This wide”—the width of Jesus’ arms outstretched on the cross.

*God knew before creation that you were and are precious to him (Ephesians
1:4). *

*God knew that his Son, Jesus, would be the only way for you to attain
heaven. *

*He sent Jesus to save you, even though he also knew all your sins before
you had ever done them. *

*Remember, God loves you dearly! *

*Dear brother and sister in Christ, God indeed loves you dearly! *

*In Jesus**’** name. Amen.*

*Let us pray:*

*He sent forth Jesus, My dear Redeemer, *

*He sent forth Jesus And set me free. *

*Therefore I’ll say again: God loves me dearly, God loves me dearly, Loves
even me. *

*Jesus, my Savior, Himself did offer;*

*Jesus, my Savior, Paid all I owed. *

*Therefore I’ll say again: God loves me dearly, God loves me dearly, Loves
even me. *

*Now I will praise You, O Love Eternal; *

*Now I will praise You All my life long. *

*Therefore I’ll say again: God loves me dearly, God loves me dearly, Loves
even me. *

*Text: Public domain*

*The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.*

*In the Name of the Father…Amen.*