The Good News about Jesus - April 29, 2018 - Fifth Sunday of Easter - Text: Acts 8:26-40

You may have noticed by now that during the Easter Season, that is during the Sundays following Easter, until we reach Pentecost Sunday, we do not have an Old Testament Reading, instead our First Readings have been readings from the Book of The Acts of the Apostles. Instead of listening to the prophecies of old that pointed to Jesus we are looking at the early Church as the word of the resurrection of Jesus began to spread and as the early Church, by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the means of the Word of God, began to grow.
 

Getting to our text, we read first of Philip’s calling. We begin at verse twenty-six, “26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ This is a desert place. 27And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29And the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over and join this chariot’” (v. 26-29).
 

Our text begins by telling us that an angel came and told Philip where to go. He told him to go to a deserted road. Philip had been going north. The angel tells him to turn 180̊ and go south. Philip obeys and begins heading south.
 

It just so happened, coincidentally, that the Lord had lead an Ethiopian to use that same road. Here is where I would like to make an aside and say that I do not believe in coincidences and this is why: All a coincidence is, is God’s unseen hand moving in our lives. It did not just so happen that the Lord lead the Ethiopian to use this road. It did not just happen that the angel told Philip to go to this road. The Lord had in mind for Philip to meet and share the good news of Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, with the Ethiopian. All we know about this Ethiopian is that he was an important official in Ethiopia and that he was a proselyte, in other words, he was a convert to Judaism. And because he was a eunuch, he was only a proselyte of the gate. Because he was a eunuch, because he was not a whole man, shall we say, remember only those, again, shall we say, those that were worthy could enter the inner court, thus he could not go into the inner courts and worship with the others.
 

The angel directed Philip to walk along beside the chariot and to listen as the man read from the book of the prophecy of Isaiah. The man must have been reading out loud, to himself, as was the custom of the people in those day. And as he was reading, being a newcomer to the faith, he did not fully understand what it was that the Word was saying to him.
 

Before we go on, one more note of interest. Our text tells us that the Ethiopian was in charge of the treasury of Candace. Candace is not the first name of the queen of the Ethiopians, rather it is a title. Very much like all the rulers of the Egyptians were called Pharaoh, so all the rulers of the Ethiopians were called Candace.
 

Getting back to the text. Our text continues with Philip opening the Scripture to the Ethiopian. We pick up at verse thirty, “30So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ 31And he said, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: ‘Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. 33In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.’ 34And the eunuch said to Philip, ‘About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?’ 35Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus” (v. 30-35).
 

Philip begins by asking the question, “do you understand what you are reading?” This does not intend to mean that the Bible is difficult to read and understand, rather we have an indication that for a new Christian it might be more difficult to make connections between prophecy and fulfillment, especially if this is the first time you are reading it. And think about the time that this is happening. The Ethiopian is reading the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah and this prophecy had just been recently fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
 

The Ethiopian asks the question, “is the prophet speaking about himself or another.” His question is, “Is the prophet going to be killed, or someone else going to be killed?” Certainly his question is understandable especially for a first time reader.
 

Philip answers his question by beginning with this very passage of scripture and explaining the good news of Jesus. Philip’s “evangelism technique” is one which we would do well to follow. When someone asks about our faith, or asks a question about God’s word, we would do well to begin with that question and answer it rather than move to a different statement and be confusing. Remember, all God asks is that we are always ready to give an answer, a defense of our faith and we are ready as we are filled with the Lord’s Word through our regular and diligent use of the means of grace, through our reading God’s Word, having personal and family devotions, being in divine service and Bible class.
 

At this point our text does not give us Philip’s words, but simply says that he told him the good news about Jesus. The Isaiah text is for another day and another sermon, but let me say this, Isaiah’s words do remind us that Jesus is the suffering servant who gave His life on the cross that we might have forgiveness of sins, life and salvation.
 

God’s Word does what it says. God gives us His Word. His Word gives us His grace. His Word works faith in our hearts. The Ethiopian, through the word, was brought to the point where he knew that he wanted to be Baptized. We continue at verse thirty-six, “36And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, ‘See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?’ 38And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea” (v. 36-40).
 

How true the Bible is when it says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. The natural response to hearing God’s Word is Holy Baptism. The Holy Spirit, working through the Word, worked faith in this man’s heart and he was ready to be given even more of God’s gifts though Holy Baptism.
 

Notice that our text does not tell us the mode of Holy Baptism, whether the man was immersed or sprinkled. It does not mention the mode, because the mode is not what is important. What is important is that Baptism takes place and that it is done with water and Word.
 

Immediately following his Baptism the Ethiopian went on his way and Philip was taken to Azotus. God had further plans for the Ethiopian, for him to go back to his own country and share the Word of the Lord with his people. And as for Philip, God took him elsewhere to continue spreading the good news of salvation.
 

It is with great joy that we come to divine service to worship our Lord, to hear the good news of salvation; to hear the good news that our sins are forgiven because of Jesus’ life and death on the cross; to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ; to be filled with His good gifts and blessings and then to take those gifts and blessings and share them with others. It is with great joy that we come to serve the Lord as His people in this place.
 

We have God’s Word. We can read God’s Word at home. We can come here and hear God’s Word. We can come here and hear God’s Word expounded. We have God’s Word which reminds us of our sins, that we sin in thought, word and deed, that we sin sins of omission and commission, that we are conceived and born in sin, that every inclination of our heart is evil all the time, and thanks be to God that we have His Word which reminds us that Jesus lived perfectly for us in our place, that He took all our sins upon Himself, that He gave His life for ours on the cross that we might have forgiveness of sins. It is through God’s Word alone that we are given, strengthened, and kept in faith. It is by God’s grace alone that we are given God’s Word, through which He gives us all His good gifts and blessings. And it is by faith alone, which our Lord gives to us through His means of grace, the Word and the Sacraments, that we are saved. Notice how it all points to God’s giving and our being given to.
 

And what is more, our Lord also gives us the privilege of being like Philip, that is the privilege of being witnesses of the faith that is in our hearts. We are witnesses in all we think, say and do. Our entire life shows forth the faith that is in our hearts as we, the priests of the Lord, in the priesthood of all believers, live our lives as living sacrifices for the Lord.
 

And we remember that we serve the Lord only as He works through us to serve Him. Again, it goes back to the Lord. He is the prime mover.
 

This morning we continue to celebrate the Easter resurrection. This morning we celebrate the gift of God’s means of grace, the gift of His Holy Word. We celebrate that the Holy Spirit works through the Word of God to give us the good gifts and blessings He has to give, faith, forgiveness, strengthening of faith, life and salvation. We celebrate God’s gifts of Holy Baptism. Certainly, in our text we see faith given through the Word and then that faith’s desire was to be baptized, yet we also know from God’s Word that Holy Baptism in itself if also a Sacrament, a sacred act, a means of grace through which God gives faith as He reminds us through the Apostle Peter, that Baptism saves us. And we continue to celebrate God’s means of grace of Confession and Absolution as well as His Holy Supper. We celebrate that God works through such ordinary earthly things as water, bread, wine and His Word to give the good gifts and blessings He has to give. Indeed, we celebrate that He stirs in us hearts that give thanks to God for His gifts, faith, forgiveness, strengthening of faith, life and salvation. Indeed, we rejoice and say, to Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Lutheran Vocational Evangelism

(How Does the Church Grow?)

How does the church grow or what grows the church? That is a question that has been answered in many and various ways. Perhaps that question may actually be two questions. The one question is how does the Church, notice the capital “C” grow? And the second question is how does the church, notice the small “c,” grow? These are two different questions, one dwelling on what is not seen, the heart of humanity, and one dwelling on what may be seen, the numbers of people in church at any given time.

Unfortunately, and perhaps for good reason from a human stand point, the questions more often than not refer to the second question, that of the number of persons that show up in church on Sunday morning. The human part of the question deals with such things as the correlation of attendees and offerings which support and carry on the visible functions of the local church, and in some cases, the ego of the church leaders and pastor.

In answer to this question of the visible church, many answers, mostly social answers, and programs have been offered. It is suggested that the church grows through a school or through a program. It has been suggested that the church grows best through the Sunday School or a revival. In recent times it has been suggested that the church grows through friendships which are touted as the means through which people are brought to faith.

Many Bible passages from the book of Acts speaking of the growth of the early church have been misconstrued to secularize or socialize the means of grace as people bringing other people to faith. While it may be true that people do bring the means of grace to other people, that people live lives of faith always being ready to give an answer for their hope in Jesus, indeed no one but the Holy Spirit, working through the true means of grace, the Word and the Sacraments, can give faith.

How does the Church grow? The Church grows as God gives her growth, and God gives her growth through the means He has given, His means of grace. And this growth may not always be seen by the human eye.

14 of 52    © Rev. Dr. Ronald A. Bogs (2018)

Good Works

Recently in our Wednesday morning Bible Class, as we have been studying the Formula of Concord, we had a discussion concerning good works. What are good works? What are civil good works? What are truly good works in God’s eyes? As we pursued the subject, it was stated that perhaps we all have not had a good understanding of this subject, so this article is being included to help us to understand good works.

First, there are civil good works, which are good works, and which are done in service to others. Civil good works can be done and are done by anyone, Christian or non-Christian alike. Civil good works, however, are not necessarily a good work in God’s eyes. Perhaps you may remember that I have said that a good work in God’s eyes is one that is: 1) motivated by God, 2) worked in and through us by God, and 3) done to the glory of God. This means that more often than not we are not aware when we do a good work in God’s eyes.

Second, when we understand that God created us to love us, we then get a better understanding of what is truly a good work in God’s eyes. So, we ask the question, “How does God love us?” He loves us through the means He has given to love us, the means of grace (Holy Baptism, Lord’s Supper, Confession and Absolution, the Word of God). Thus, the greatest good work is to be given the gifts of God, to be loved by God through the means of grace, being in Divine Service and Bible class. Indeed, it is only as we realize that all the things of this world mean nothing after we pass on or the Lord returns, that we can then truly understand the meaninglessness of the things of this world so that we are moved to be about the things of God. Yet the devil continually cons us into putting more and more emphasis, spending more and more of our time on the problems, frustrations, events, activities, etc., of this world.

We know that the unforgivable sin is the sin against the Holy Spirit. What is this sin against the Holy Spirit? We have defined the sin against the Holy Spirit ultimately as dying in unbelief, that is, dying rejecting the gift of faith the Holy Spirit gives through the means of grace. However, as we absent ourselves from the means of grace, the places and the means through which God loves us, we are sinning against Holy Spirit. And if one continues sinning against the Holy Spirit, refusing and rejecting the gifts of God, one’s eternal salvation could become at risk of dying.

Thus, as God created us to love us, so our greatest desire is not the things of this world, no matter how tempted we are to be in and of this world. Rather our greatest desire is to be when and where God loves us, to be in Divine Service and Bible Study as often as possible, so that through our response of faith given by the Holy Spirit through the means of Grace, we are loved by God, are strengthened in our faith, and give praise and glory to God. This work is the ultimate good work in God’s eyes.

Lutheran Vocational Evangelism

(The Priesthood of All Believers)

In the Old Testament the vocation of the priest was to offer the sacrifices, brought by the Children of Israel, to the Lord. These offerings and sacrifices did absolutely nothing to earn their forgiveness, rather they pointed to the price for sin and the One ultimate sacrifice of the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior who would gives His life, once, for all, Jesus.

Moving into the New Testament both Peter and Paul remind us that all Christians are now priests, not as in the Old Testament way, but in a new way.

Peter tells us, “You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Paul tells us, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).

In the Old Testament, sacrifices were offered, lambs slaughtered, animals killed, all pointing to Jesus. In the New Testament, today, because Jesus offered Himself as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, we no longer need to offer such bloody sacrifices. Today, however, we offer ourselves, not in a bloody suicide, but as living sacrifices. Today we live our lives as Christians showing forth the faith that is in our hearts through our living.

Just as the bloody ceremonial sacrifices of the Old Testament pointed to Jesus, so too our living lives of faith point to Jesus who lived, suffered, died and rose for us. We live and love because He first lived and loved us and for us. So, we live and love others as He lives and loves through us, as we live as priests, offering ourselves as living sacrifices.

13 of 52    © Rev. Dr. Ronald A. Bogs (2018)

No Other Name - April 22, 2018 - “Good Shepherd Sunday” Fourth Sunday of Easter - Text: Acts 4:1-12

This morning we continue to bask in the afterglow of Easter. Last week we came and saw the effect of what happened when Peter and John went up to the temple to pray, as was their custom, and while they were there they healed the lame man. We saw the lame man follow with Peter and John, leaping and jumping and praising God. We also heard Peter’s second sermon in which he declared that it was in the name of Jesus that the beggar was healed and he went on to preach a beautiful law and gospel sermon. Today we continue the account as we see Peter and John being arrested and being put into prison for their acts of healing in Jesus’ name. We hear how more than five thousand people were given faith by the Holy Spirit working through the means of the Word of God which Peter spoke. And we see them as they stand before the Jewish high counsel ready to give testimony to the faith that is in their hearts.
 

We pick with Peter and John before the Sanhedrin and Peter is speaking beginning at verse eight, “8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, 9if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well’” (v.8-10).
 

Peter and John are brought before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish legal counsel and asked, “By what power or what name did you do this?” or as we hear it said today, “who gave you the authority to do this?” There was no concern about if what they did was good or not, just a question of authority. Just as an aside, Jesus’ authority came, not from His power, but from His service, from His being a servant. When Peter answers it is almost like you can hear the sarcasm in his voice when he says, “are we on trial for an act of kindness?” “Are we on trial for healing a cripple?” “We did not break any law, we did not do it on the Sabbath day.”
 

Peter was known for saying what was on his mind. Peter says, “If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified . . . , that this man stands before you healed.” Notice how he does not beat around the bush, but he cuts to the chase. It is by the name of Jesus, whom you crucified. Again, Peter begins with words of the Law, words of conviction. He points to the Sanhedrin, “whom you crucified.”
 

Peter also speaks the words of the Gospel. The Gospel is that this Jesus did not remain dead but God raised Him from the dead. We do not worship a dead God, but a living God. Jesus is true man, born of the human woman, and He is true God, conceived by the Holy Spirit. He was put to death on the cross, but death and the grave have no power over Him. He rose from the dead and because He rose and lives, we know that we too shall live.
 

Peter continues with a reminder that Jesus is the corner stone. We pick up at verse eleven, “11This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (v. 11-12).
 

Peter here quotes from Psalm 118. The word our text translates as “capstone” can be either the top stone in an archway, the stone that holds the arch up, or it can be the cornerstone, the main foundation stone upon which the building is erected. Either way, it is the most important stone.
 

Peter’s words are meant to help the Sanhedrin, that is the Jewish counsel, to  understand that God does not work by human standards. The stone that is unimportant to the human world, the stone the builders rejected, has become the most important in God’s plan. The stone, Jesus, whom they crucified, whom they tried to throw away, has become and now is the main stone, the capstone, the cornerstone to our salvation.
 

Salvation can be obtained in no other way except in the name of Jesus. Jesus is the only name under heaven, given to men, whereby we must be saved. This exclusive claim is why we Christians are so hated by the rest of the world. The world would have you believe that there are many ways to heaven or enlightenment, or nirvana, or whatever. The world would like to get to heaven by their own imagination, by their own good deeds or obedience. To make Jesus the exclusive way to heaven goes against the sinful nature of the permissive world in which we live. Thus, Christians are hated.
 

The trial of Peter and John was very much like the trials we face in our world today. Yes, even in America, we Christians are on trial. As Christians we show acts of kindness, worked in us by the power of the Holy Spirit as fruits of faith. We show acts of kindness and people wonder why? Why would we do the kind things we do? Of course, we realize that we cannot help but do acts of kindness, because our Lord works these acts of kindness through us.
 

At the same time that we do acts of kindness, we realize that we are also a part of the mob that crucified Jesus. We still have that sinner, saint thing going on inside of us. We are saints, by the blood of Jesus, and yet, we are still sinners, sinners from our conception. So, we continue to struggle with sin and doing acts of kindness.
 

The Law reminds us that we are sinners and that it was because of our sin that Jesus died on the cross. The Gospel is that Jesus lived for us, the perfect life demanded of us, for us, in our place. The Gospel continues reminding us that Jesus did not remain dead, but that God raised Him from the dead for us. And because Jesus rose, defeating sin, death and the devil, we know that these have no power over us and we too will rise again to eternal life in heaven with Him.
 

Yet, our trial today is even more serious than for just showing acts of kindness. For you see, we, as Christians are on trial because we claim that there is only one way to heaven. We live in a very pluralistic society. We live in a society in which our law recognizes no heresy and therefore there is no basis for distinguishing between any religious groups. In our society, all religious groups, sects or cults, have equal validity.
 

There was an article in a newspaper a few years back in which the author was accusing the large, mainstream Christian denominations for the downfall of people like those that followed the Heaven’s Gate cult. He suggested that it was because we have backed off on the truth of God’s Law that people have strayed. I must say, I was glad he did not mention Lutherans in his article, but I believe that he is close to right. Many of the Christian or so called Christian churches in the United States have become more and more secularized, have begun to look more and more like the society, which is what happens when you do theology by majority vote instead of letting God’s Word be God’s Word. When the Bible contains God’s Word instead of is God’s Word, then you lose the Bible. When the Bible begins to be seen as containing errors, then we have lost our Bible. When we have lost our Bible’s we have lost the means through which our Lord comes to us to give us His good gifts and blessings, including faith and strengthening of faith.
 

Our church and our denomination are a minority in our country and in the world today. And it is not getting any easier as we continue to be on trial for declaring that we have the truth and others do not, but what does God’s Word say? We are on trial like Peter and John. Like Peter and John we declare, “Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Jesus is the one that people reject when they say there is another way, or that there are many ways to heaven. Jesus is the one that people reject when they say that the Bible contains God’s Word or has errors. Jesus is the one they reject when they suggest that we are closed minded to think that there is only one way to heaven. Yes, we are on trial because we do believe what the Bible teaches, “there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved,” and that name is the name of Jesus.
 

So where do we stand as Christians? What do we do? First and foremost we stand with Peter and John and make regular and diligent use of the means of grace. There is no greater good work that we can do than to find time, make time, and take every opportunity to make use of the means of grace, to be given and filled with God’s Word and gifts, to be in Divine Service and Bible Class. And with the Holy Spirit working through these means of grace, we respond.
 

We respond as we stand with Peter and John and we witness boldly. We witness boldly as God gives us the opportunity to witness. And believe me, if you pray for the opportunity, God will give it to you. Often, even without praying, God will give you the opportunity. How often have you had the Mormons or the Jehovah’s Witnesses come to your door? How many times in a day do you have the opportunity to live as a Christian where you work or play?  The Lord is constantly giving you opportunities to proclaim His name to the lost through your very life, as you live your life as a priest in the priesthood of all believers, as you live your life as a living sacrifice for the Lord.
 

We witness boldly as God gives us the opportunity not only to witness with our actions, but also to witness with our words and He gives us the words to say. Peter did not speak on his own, but he boldly professed the faith that was put in his heart by the power of the Holy Spirit speaking through Him. God gives us the same promise. When He gives us the opportunity to speak in His name, He will also give us the words to say.
 

We witness boldly as God gives us, the opportunity to live as a witness and the opportunity to speak words and even the words to speak, but even more as He gives us the courage to speak. Remember, we do not witness by ourselves. God is with us. He is with us to guide us, to give us the opportunity, to give us the words and to give us the courage to speak the words which He gives us to speak. We witness boldly as God gives us the courage to stick to the truth of His Word which professes that there is only one way to heaven, that there is no other name whereby we must be saved and that name is the name of Jesus.
 

So, are only Missouri Synod Lutherans going to heaven. I have been accused of believing that, but I doubt it. As a matter of fact there are probably some Missouri Synod Lutherans who are not going to heaven. What I do know is this, only those people who are given faith by the Holy Spirit working through the means of grace, those who believe in the name of Jesus alone will go to heaven. As Missouri Synod Lutherans I believe we have a great task before us. The task we have before us is to stick to God’s word as God’s Word; to proclaim God’s Word in all its truth and purity; to bear witness of the faith that God has put in our hearts and to never compromise our stance on the truth. This is our task, this is our trial, and this is what we can do only with the help of God giving us the opportunity, the Words, and the courage to do. And God does give us the opportunity, the words and the courage to do so through the means of Grace, His Word and Sacraments. To God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Lutheran Vocational Evangelism

(The Office of Holy Ministry)

Keep in mind the fact that we are most sure of what we are doing when God is the one who is doing the doing.

When it comes to being called into service to the Lord in the Office of Holy Ministry, we believe, teach and confess that a man does not call himself into the Office of Holy Ministry. And we might also add, God does not call all men into the Office of Holy Ministry. God calls some men into the Office of Holy Ministry.

God’s usual way of coming to us, of giving to us, of working with us is through means. The same is true for His calling into the Office of Holy Ministry. God does not simply call a man into the Office of Holy Ministry, and especially not simply through one’s “feeling” a calling from God. God calls through means, and He validates His call through His Church. In other words, God’s call is through His Church so that as a local congregation meets, prays and issues a call, then the one who is called has the call from God into the Office of Holy Ministry validated, and they are certain that their calling is from God.

And God’s call into the Office of Holy Ministry is a calling of service. God’s call is not a calling to be a coach or mentor. His call is not a calling to be a chief executive officer (CEO). Pastors are not trained to be CEOs. God’s calling is not for the pastor to send his members out to be ministers. His members are not trained to be ministers. This type of activity is a reversal of what God has given. God has called the laity to run the congregation and the pastor to serve the Lord by being His servant in that place. Thus, the Pastor is called to preach the Gospel, administer the sacraments, and forgive and retain sins.

As Christians, we believe, teach and confess that God has called some men into the Office of Holy Ministry, that He has validated that call through the calling congregation, and that He has given pastors to preach the Gospel, administer the sacraments, and forgive and retain sins.

12 of 52    © Rev. Dr. Ronald A. Bogs (2018)

Testimony of the Resurrection - April 8, 2018 - Second Sunday of Easter - Text: Acts 4:32-35

He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Yes, we are still in the Easter Season and although the secular world may have moved on to the next saleable holiday, we continue to bask in the glow of our Easter celebration, our celebration of the defeat of sin, death and the power of the devil, our celebration of Jesus’ resurrection and the knowledge, hope and certainty of our own resurrection to eternal life.
 

All our readings for this morning remind us of the resurrection. John reminds us of Jesus’ appearing alive to His disciples on that first Easter evening and on the next Sunday evening. In the Epistle John also reminds us of the forgiveness of sins, earn and paid for by Jesus and how when we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and does forgive us all our sins. And in our text Luke recounts for us the effects of the resurrection on the lives of God’s people, that is they are moved, by the Holy Spirit, through the means of the Word of God, to live lives of faith.
 

Luke outlines for us the unity of the Church and the fact that this is a unity based on a common faith which is an agreement on the articles of faith, that is that we believe the same doctrines, or teachings of the Bible, and this faith and unity is given by the Holy Spirit. We read beginning at verse thirty-two,  “32Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common” (v. 32).
 

Luke says that those who believed were of “One heart and soul.” These word speak well of the fact that the unity of the church does not mean a church with a mixed bag of beliefs, rather it means a church with one belief, one faith, one doctrine or teaching. This does not mean we all have our own opinion about what God means in His Word, but this reminds us that God has given His Word which has only one meaning and if we have a problem understanding His Word and what it means, if we believe it to be contradictory of itself, the problem is not with God’s Word, but with us and our sin tainted logic and understanding. And that is what explains all the various denominations we have in our world today, not God and His Word, but our sinful nature!
 

Getting back to this unity as Luke describes it. This is a unity of faith and included in this unity of faith was a unity of possessions, that is that they had all things in common. This unity of possessions flowed out of an understanding that God owns all things and we are merely stewards or caretakers of all that God owns and gives to us to use while we are on this earth. Now, please do not misunderstand this unity. As Dr. Kretzman says in his commentary, “This was not the expression of fantastic and illusory socialistic theories or of an absolute communism, but a spontaneous manifestation of Christian love.” Indeed, the Bible does not speak in favor of any particular form of government or politics rather it speaks of Jesus and the Gospel.
 

Thus, this unity of possessions was a unity of Christians of common faith caring for each other, not a demand by any secular socialist government nor any other form of government forced unity. Rather, this unity was a unity that has at its foundation, God’s first love for us. We love because He first loved us. We love because we reflect His love for others. We share and give to others because God first gives us all things. It all starts with God.
 

As always, Luke points to God who gives. God gives  faith through means, in particular the means of the Word of the resurrection of Jesus. We pick up at verse thirty-three “33And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all” (v. 33).
 

Faith is not something we get for ourselves. Faith is not something we earn or choose. Faith is that instrument which is given by the Holy Spirit and which we use to take hold of all the other gifts and blessings our Lord has to give. And faith is a gift.
 

Faith is given through the means of grace and in particular through the means of the Word of God. In our text, Luke tells us that this grace, that this gift of faith was given especially through the word of the resurrection of Jesus.
 

And faith brought great grace to all. I like the acronym of GRACE as God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. God gives us all the good gifts and blessings He has to give because these gifts and blessings were purchased for us by Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross. Through the means of God’s Word He pours out on us and lavishes us with faith, forgiveness, life and salvation.
 

Luke also does well to remind us that our response of faith, our living lives of faith, our sanctification, as we call it, does not come from inside, but this too is stirred in and through us by God. God gives a response of faith, especially according to one’s vocation in the priesthood of believers. We read the last two verses of our text, “34There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need” (v. 34-35).
 

God is the prime mover. God gives and we are given to. And God moves and stirs in us so that we love and care for others. Our response of faith, moved in us by God is to love and care for others. Although God has not called us all to be ministers, but some men to be ministers, He has called us all to serve Him by serving others in the various vocations in which we live. So, although we are not all ministers, we are all priests, in the priesthood of believers. The job of the priest was to offer sacrifices. The pastor, our minster does not offer sacrifices. We, as members of the body of Christ, as priests in the priesthood of all believers, we offer sacrifices, not bloody sacrifices, rather we offer our lives as living sacrifices to the Lord. We do this, offer our lives as living sacrifices, not in and of ourselves, but as God moves in us. So, Luke tells us that everyone worked according to their own vocation and then gave of their resources to help one another, especially those in need.
 

Notice that the order of this giving is important. First, each person gave of themself. God does not need anything from us. What would God, who created all things out of nothing, who gives everything to us, need from us? God does not need anything from us, but He does want us. He wants our hearts. Interestingly enough, what we are seeing Luke describe is what happens when God does have us. When God has us He has all of us, including all that we have and all that we own, all our worldly possessions, which are His anyway.
 

As God gives faith, as God gives a response of faith, then goods were distributed according to need. But again, this was not the expression of socialistic theories nor communism, but a response of faith and Christian love.
 

What Does this Mean? God’s desire is faith not works, God wants us, not what we do or what we think we are doing for Him. God’s desire is what He tells us, especially in His encounter with Mary and Martha. Remember that account? Martha was concerned about all the preparations. Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and listened. When confronted, Jesus told Martha that what Mary was doing was the most important thing. How often do we believe that what we are doing for the Lord is so important that the church would not be the same unless we were doing it? I remember the first call I had while serving as a teacher. I remember telling one of the other teachers that I could not take the call because what would they do without me at this school. His response was to tell me that I was replaceable. Now, I know that might sound mean, but that we the greatest thing he or anyone could have told me. I am replaceable. In every congregation I serve I always remind myself, I am replaceable. Those words are quite liberating. It does not depend on me. God does not “need” me and what I think I am doing for Him. What if something happened to me? What if I became incapacitated, what if I died, what if I moved, God would replace me and His word would continue. God’s desire is not for what we think He needs us to do for Him. His desire is to have us. For us today we would realize that God’s greatest desire is for us to be in Divine Service and Bible class. Remember, God works through means and in particular He works through the means of grace. Through the means of grace, that is through the Word and Sacraments God gives the good gifts and blessings He has to give, faith, forgiveness, life and salvation. When we absent ourselves from the means, we absent ourselves from the gifts and blessings He has to give and this is gift refusal. Indeed, this refusal is the sin against the Holy Spirit.
 

God want us, all of us. Interestingly enough, when God has us, He has all of us, including our possessions. I believe the reciprocal is also true, when God does not have our possessions, then He does not have all of us. When we resist and refuse the gifts He has to give, He does not have all of us. And of course, that is the problem and that is our nature after all, as sinful human beings we constantly refuse and reject, we constantly fail to give God ourselves and instead we act like Thomas in our Gospel reading and we act like those who walk in darkness in our Epistle lesson. This is why we need the constant reminder that we are not the one’s who are running the show. If we were running the show and when we do run the show we run from God instead of running to Him.
 

Thanks be to God that He is running the show. Thanks be to God that He is the prime mover. He is the one who is coming to us, who is giving us life, new life, faith, forgiveness and life. Even when we sin, even when we refuse and reject the gifts He gives, He continually is seeking us and working to give us the gifts He has to give.
 

God is the prime mover. We love because He first loved us. God is the prime mover, He gives to us. He gives us life at conception. He gives us new life and even eternal life through the waters of Holy Baptism. He gives us forgiveness of sins through confession and absolution. He gives us faith, strengthening of faith, forgiveness of sins, life and salvation through His Word and through His body and blood in His Holy Supper. But even more, He is the one who is moving in us to recognize that all that we have is His.
 

God is the prime mover moving in us to give ourselves and all that we have for service to Him in His kingdom. Our only option is to refuse and reject, and yet, with God working in and through us, He moves us to be done to and to be given to, thus He gets the credit for our salvation and for our works of faith.
 

As a word of summary, our readings for this Second Sunday of Easter remind us that the Holy Christian Church, which is the Communion of Saints, is the Invisible Church made up of believers, those who are united in faith, faith given by the Holy Spirit through the means of grace, especially through the means of the Gospel, that Word of Jesus resurrection and which faith shows forth through the response of faith worked in the believer’s heart by the Holy Spirit so that the believer lives a life of faith especially in their vocation, living as members of the priesthood of believers giving of themselves and all they have for the Lord. To God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Lutheran Vocational Evangelism

(Understanding Vocation)

So we have been talking about and hearing the word vocation. What is a vocation? Vocation comes from Latin vocatio, meaning a calling, summoning. The dictionary defines vocation as a regular occupation or profession, an urge or predisposition to undertake a certain kind of work, especially a religious career; a calling. More often than not the term, vocation is used in its religious context.

A good understanding of one’s vocation may best be found in Luther’s Small Catechism as he outlines what he calls the “Table of Duties.” This section, section three of the Small Catechism lays out “certain passages of Scripture for various holy orders and positions, admonishing them about their duties and responsibilities.” The various vocations Luther lists include: “To Bishops, Pastor and Preacher, What the Hearers Owe Their Pastors, Of Civil Government, Of Citizens, To Husbands, To Wives, To Parents, To Children, To Workers of All Kinds, To Employers and Supervisors, To Youth, To Widows, To Everyone.” From this list we can understand that each person resides with several vocations at the same time and that these vocations do change from time to time, from age to age.

The purpose of one’s vocation is to be of service. Now, certainly as a Christian, our greater and greatest service is first from God to us in that He gives, He loves us first, and then we give, we love in return. With that said, as a response of faith, our desire is to be of service to God and we are of service to God, as we serve others. Thus, in our vocation we service God by serving others.

The question then is how do we serve others in our various vocations? And the answer is usually self evident, such as a parent raising and caring for their children, serving God by raising Godly children. Ultimately, as we serve God by serving others, as we live lives of faith, it is our prayer that others may see our faith through our example and service, that they may ask, and we may have an opportunity to give an answer for our faith and hope in Jesus. And we do give an answer with gentleness, with God’s authority, with His promise to be with us, to give us the words and the confidence to speak.

11 of 52    © Rev. Dr. Ronald A. Bogs (2018)

Justification in Jesus’, Just Jesus - April 1, 2018 - Easter Morning - Text: Apology to Augsburg Article IV

He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
 

This year during the season of Lent through to Easter Sunrise and Easter morning we are continuing our celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation as we did at Advent through Christmas. During Lent through Easter we are covering what is considered the most important doctrine of the Church and the Lutheran Church, Article IV of the Augsburg Confession and the Apology of the Augsburg Confession. Article IV is the article on Justification and how we are made just and right in God’s eyes. Indeed, this article is the article on which the Church stands or falls, because we are saved either by ourselves, our good deeds, our obedience, and so forth or our salvation comes from outside of us, namely it comes from Jesus, who has earned and paid for our sins by His suffering and death and the cross and which He gives freely to us with out any merit or worthiness within us.
 

As you hear me say, we get it right when we point to Jesus. All history focuses on Jesus. From the designation before Christ, B.C. to the designation anno domino or what is often called after death, A.D., even to the more secular modern designation common era, C.E., and before the common era, B.C.E., no matter what the designation the focal point is Jesus. The time of the Old Testament is counted backward until it reaches zero and then counts forward until we reach this current year, 2018. No matter the designation the focal point is the time of Jesus.
 

All Scripture focuses on Jesus. The Old Testament, especially the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament point to Jesus. The history and all the books of the Old Testament bring us to about 500 years before the birth of Jesus. The New Testament points to Jesus. All the books of the New Testament speak of the history and teachings of Jesus. Genesis records the account of God’s creation. Revelation points us to our reward of eternity in heaven because of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.
 

How can we come to any other conclusion in this world of history and God’s Word except that all history and all Scripture points us to Jesus. Jesus is the focal point of all history and Scripture. And rightly He should be as He is God, Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier.
 

God is omniscient that is God knows all things. Please understand that this omniscience does not mean that God predetermines all things. There is a distinct difference between foreknowledge, omniscience and predestination or preordination, destiny or fate if you will. Just because God knows something before it happens does not mean that God intends or necessarily makes something happen. Simply stated, God is omniscient.
 

In His omniscience, God knew what was going to happen before He began creation. We might best understand this concept by remembering that God lives in the eternal present. For God there is no yesterday, no today and no tomorrow. God lives outside of time. He created time for us. You might think about it as spinning a globe and then stopping it. For the globe people a lot of time seems to have quickly spun past, but for you, outside of that time, nothing happened. Anyway, in His omniscience, God knew what was going to happen even before He began creating the world.
 

God knew that Adam and Eve would fall for the lies of Satan. He knew they would disobey His command and eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil of which He told them not to eat. He knew they would sin. And He knew He would have to fix their problem. God knew all this was going to happen even before He began creation. And yet in His great love for us, He created us anyway.
 

In His omniscience God knew all that would happen and in His love He created the world anyway and in His creating He created a plan whereby He would rescue His creation bringing us back into a right relationship with Himself, justifying us in other words. God worked through time, the time He gave to us, to bring about our salvation. God knew what had to happen and at just the right time He put His plan into action. And as we know the rest of the history, His plan did work and we have been saved, rescued, redeemed.
 

What does this mean? First we need to understand our purpose. Unfortunately there are many in our world today that would propose a purpose other than God’s true purpose. Some will point you to yourself and express the idea that your purpose is to live for God, to work for God, to do something for or offer something to God, as if God needs something from us. Why do parents have children? So the children can serve them? I think not. God created us to love us. Plan and simple, God created you to love you. God created all things out of nothing. He has given us all that we need in this world, what on earth would the one who created all and gives all need from us, the ones He has created and to whom He has given?
 

God created us to love us and God created us to give to us. He gives us all that we need to support our body and life, clothing and shoes, meat and drink, house and home, and on and on. He gives us our most important spiritual blessings as well, faith, forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. All that we have is gift from our gift giving God.
 

Our purpose in life is to be loved by God. And we fulfill that purpose by being by God, by being where He gives out His love, in Divine Service. By being where He distributes His love, at His Holy Supper. By remembering His gifts, by being mindful of our Baptism. By being given forgiveness, through confession and absolution. By being filled with Him through reading His Word. By being in conversation with Him, listening to Him speak in His Word and speaking back to Him in prayer.
 

God gives and we are given to. God gives and stirs and moves in us our response to all His good gifts and blessings. Indeed, how can we not respond to all that our Lord does for us and gives to us. In the Garden of Eden, since Adam and Eve had nothing, but since all was supplied by God, He gave for them to obey His one command, to not eat of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. As we know they failed. Indeed, that may be an indication of our nature yet today. God gives to us and more often than not we fail as well. We fail to be in Divine Service. We fail to read His Word. We fail to remember our Baptism. We fail to confess our sins and hear His Word of Absolution. We fail and God knew we would and that is why He continues to offer and give to us.
 

Our response of faith and the gifts of God, our response to God loving us is to be loved by God and we are loved by God as we are in the Word. Indeed, God showers us with His love as we hear and read His Word, because His Word is a Word with power to do what it says and to give the gifts of which it speaks.
 

Our response of faith and the gifts of God, our response to God loving us is to be loved by God and we are loved by God as remember our Baptism. We do not need to be baptized more than once because God got it right the first time, as He proclaims, Baptism now saves you. At the same time, each and every day, perhaps as we wash our face or have water shower on us we might be reminded of the waters of Holy Baptism, God’s putting His name on us, God choosing us and making us His own, even writing our names in the book of heaven.
 

Our response of faith and the gifts of God, our response to God loving us is to be loved by God and we are loved by God as we confess our sins and hear His word that our sins have been forgiven. As we daily sin much and are in need of forgiveness so we confess daily and even more, we come to the Lord’s house every week and confess our sins so that we might hear the Word of God through the mouth of the Pastor proclaiming that our sins are forgiven. And should we need, we may come privately to our pastor and hear God’s word of forgiveness. And we know that as we hear those words of forgiveness here on earth, they are just as true in heaven.
 

Our response of faith and the gifts of God, our response to God loving us is to be loved by God and we are loved by God as we partake of His body and blood thus participating with in Him in His life, suffering, death and resurrection. Just as the Old Testament people ate the sacrifice so that it became a part of them, so too do we eat Jesus’ body and drink His blood so that it becomes a real part of us, not symbolic, not spiritual, but a real part of us.
 

Our response of faith and the gifts of God, our response to God loving us is to be loved by God and we are loved by God as we live lives of faith, that is as we are priest in the priesthood of all believers. Remember, the role of the priest was to offer sacrifices, which pointed to Jesus. We no longer are required to offer sacrifices today and yet we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, living lives of faith always being ready to give an answer for the hope that we have in Jesus.
 

Today is a most special day of celebration. Today we celebrate that Jesus has taken care of our sins, the cost and price, the wage of our sin, death and hell. We celebrate that Jesus defeated sin, death and the devil so that they have no power over us. We celebrate that He created us to love us and we see His love in the ultimate sacrifice of Himself on the cross. We celebrate that He continues to love us and offer to us His many good gifts and blessings. We celebrate forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. We celebrate and say, to God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
 

He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

Justification in Jesus’ Resurrection - April 1, 2018 - Easter Sunrise - Text: Apology to Augsburg Article IV

He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
 

This year during the season of Lent through to Easter Sunrise and Easter morning we are continuing our celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation as we did at Advent through Christmas. During Lent through Easter we are covering what is considered the most important doctrine of the Church and the Lutheran Church, Article IV of the Augsburg Confession and the Apology of the Augsburg Confession. Article IV is the article on Justification and how we are made just and right in God’s eyes. Indeed, this article is the article on which the Church stands or falls, because we are saved either by ourselves, our good deeds, our obedience, and so forth or our salvation comes from outside of us, namely it comes from Jesus, who has earned and paid for our sins by His suffering and death and the cross and which He gives freely to us with out any merit or worthiness within us.
 

Justification in Jesus’ resurrection, what is the question? Why is there a question? Why is there any doubt? Of course there is justification in Jesus’ resurrection, at least as Christians that might be our perspective. So, as you always hear me tell you, we get it right when we point to Jesus so, let us start with Jesus.
 

As we confess in the three ecumenical, or universal Christian creeds we believe that Jesus is true God born in human flesh making Him also true man. We know that Jesus is truly God because He was conceived by God, by God the Holy Spirit. Jesus had to be truly God in order to be born in perfection and in order to live in perfection. Because human DNA had been tainted by sin and because all humans conceived as human are conceived and born in sin the only way Jesus could be without sin was to be conceived by the Holy Spirit and that is what we confess. Jesus is also truly human and we know He is human because He was born of the human woman, the Virgin Mary. Jesus had to be truly human in order to be our substitute, in order to shed His blood for us. As you may recall, all the ceremonial animal sacrifices of the Old Testament truly did nothing as far as earning or gaining forgiveness of sins for those offering the sacrifice because they were animals, not humans. The price for sin was that blood and only human blood would have to be shed. Jesus had to be human so that His shed blood might be for us humans.
 

Very often we speak about the Gospel and yet we only hear mention of Jesus’ death and resurrection and that is good news, that is Gospel, however the fullness of the Gospel is seen in the fact that Jesus lived a perfect life, obeying all God’s laws and command perfectly, fulfilling all the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament. God’s demand on us is perfection and we cannot be perfect. As we said we are conceived and born in sin and so from our very beginning we are unable to accomplish what God demands. Jesus was born in perfection and He did live a perfect life and He lived His life for us in our place. Jesus is true Israel and true us. What was demanded of Israel and what is demanded of us was accomplished in Jesus and He accomplished it for us, in our place.
 

Upon living the perfect life, living in perfect obedience and perfect fulfillment, having been attested by Moses and Elijah at the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus took all sin upon Himself, all your sins, all my sins, all the sins of all people who have ever lived and will ever live, of all places, and all times and He suffered under Pontius Pilate, as we confess in our creeds. Jesus suffered the price for sin, death, eternal spiritual death and hell for us in our place.
 

And Jesus died on the cross. Yes, our God died. Some religions think it unthinkable that God can die. Some think it unthinkable that God would condemn His Son to die. We revel in the cross knowing that in the cross Jesus died paying the price for our sins. And just as when we die our bodies will go into the ground and our souls will enter heaven, so too with Jesus who is God, His body was placed in the tomb and His Spirit continued to live. As Jesus is truly God Himself He raised Himself from the grave.
 

Jesus rose from the dead defeating sin, death and the devil. He showed Himself to be alive for forty days following His resurrection so there would be as many witnesses as possible. He went and declared victory over Satan himself. We do not worship a dead God, but a living Lord.
 

What does this mean? Had Jesus simply died His death would mean nothing for us. If we could find His tomb and His body we of all people would be most to be pitied as Paul so well reminds us. Had Jesus not risen then there would be no defeat of sin, death and the devil.
 

But Jesus did rise from the dead. His resurrection shows that God was satisfied with His sacrifice for us, in our place. Just as sin entered the world through the one man Adam, so forgiveness has been earned by the one man Jesus. His death paid the price once and for all for all people of all places of all times.
 

Jesus’ resurrection shows He defeated sin, death and the devil. Certainly while we remain in this world we will encounter temptation and we will sin. Certainly the results of the sin of Adam and Eve continue in our bodies in that we will all some day die a physical death, we will pass away, however, we have the certainty that Jesus paid the price for our sins. We have the certainty that our dying in this world is a mere falling asleep, a passing on into heaven. We have the certainty that the devil has been defeated and can harm us none.
 

Jesus’ resurrection shows that He earned forgiveness for us and gives us forgiveness. Jesus paid the price for our sins. Our account, what we owe for our sins, the price has been paid, completely. When we stand before God He will not see our sin, but by faith in Jesus He will see Jesus’ righteousness and He will be satisfied.
 

Jesus’ resurrection shows us that we too will rise again, that death and the grave have no power over us. Indeed, we may pass on, if the Lord does not return first, however we know that our passing from this world will be like our being born. As we moved from our mother’s womb into this world, so when we pass we will be born out of the womb of this world into our eternal home of heaven.
 

How is this done? How are we given the gifts that God gives? This is done, we are given the gifts of God, faith, forgiveness, life, eternal life and salvation in the way and through the very means God has given to give us all His good gifts and blessings, His means of grace. And this is why our making regular and diligent use of His means of grace is so important and why we make time and take time to be where His gifts are distributed, lest we lose the gifts He has to give.
 

God gives us faith through Holy Baptism. In Baptism, as in all of God’s means of grace, God is the one doing the doing. God is the one giving and we are being done to and given to. In Holy Baptism God uses the hands of the pastor to put water, plain, simple water on our head and the pastor’s mouth through which God speaks His name, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is the one acting and He is the one giving faith as He promises, “Baptism now saves you.” As we see a helpless infant being brought to the waters of Holy Baptism we get a great vivid image of our helplessness and God’s great doing, and giving.
 

God strengthens us in faith through His Word. Certainly we may not remember every meal we have ever eaten, but we still eat, everyday, more than once a day. We may not remember every sermon we have ever heard, nor every word of the Bible we have ever read, but as Christians, clinging to our Lord, our desire is to be where and when His Word is proclaimed and to read His Word as often as we are able so that He may speak to us through His Word, which is where we are most confident that He speaks to us.
 

God gives us forgiveness through confession and absolution. Because God gives us forgiveness through confession and absolution, that is why we begin most every service with confession and absolution. God hears our confession and speaking through the mouth of the one He has called to proclaim His Words of absolution, when we hear the Pastor speak, “As a called and ordained servant of the Lord, I forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” then we know that the words God speak through the pastor are sure and certain and that our sins are forgiven. Indeed, it is this word of Gospel, that our sins are forgiven that move us to confess all our sins.
 

God gives us forgiveness and strengthening of faith through His Holy Supper. Just as the ceremonial sacrifices of the Old Testament were consumed by those offering the sacrifice so that it became a part of them and yet only pointed to the one ultimate sacrifice of the Lamb of God, so when we come to the Lord’s table, as He instructs us and promises us, as we eat the bread, the body of Christ, and as we drink the wine, the blood of Christ, so He becomes a physical, not symbolic or spiritual, part of us. Thus, His perfect life becomes our perfect life. His perfect suffering and death become our perfect suffering and death. And His perfect resurrection and life become our perfect resurrection and eternal life.
 

And He moves in us to respond with thanks and praise. Thanks be to God. Indeed, Jesus’ resurrection brings us back into a right relationship with Himself. Jesus’ resurrections means we are made just and right, we are justified in God’s eyes. God does it all through Jesus. We are passively given to and done to. God does, God gives and He stirs in us our response of praise.
 

Once again we celebrate Easter, the resurrection of our Lord. Once again we are renewed and refreshed in our faith and relationship with Jesus. Once again we have the opportunity to thank and praise, serve and obey Him for His great love and gifts.
 

He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Amen.