But I’m only a child! by Pastor Zarling

But I’m only a child!

Jeremiah 1:4-10 The word of the Lord came to me. 5Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I set you apart. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations. 6But I said, “Ah, Lord God! I really do not know how to speak! I am only a child!” 7The Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone to whom I send you and say whatever I command you. 8Do not be afraid of them, because I am with you, and I will rescue you, declares the Lord.” 9Then the Lord stretched out his hand and touched my mouth. The Lord said to me: There! I have now placed my words in your mouth. 10Look, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.

Preach the word. Be ready whether it is convenient or not. Correct, rebuke, and encourage, with all patience and teaching (2 Timothy 4:2). Amen.

Max is nine years old. He thinks this is a wonderfully valid excuse for getting out of chores. One Saturday morning, Max was sitting on the couch, with his eyes glued to the TV screen. Mom called from the kitchen, “Max, can you please take out the trash?” Max paused the show and called back with the excuse, “Mom, I’m just a kid. I’m too weak to do that stuff.”

Later in the afternoon, Max’s dad was working in the garage changing the oil on their SUV. He wanted to start teaching Max how to work on cars. He said to Max, “Come out to the garage and help me.” Max gave his dad the excuse, “Dad, I’m just a kid. I don’t know how to do that stuff.

In the evening, Max’s sixteen-year-old sister was doing laundry. She told Max that his clothes were in the dryer and that he should fold them and put them in his dresser. Max made the same excuse to his sister, “Sis, I’m just a kid. I’m not able to do that stuff.”

The next day, after the family returned home from church, suddenly the family made sure that Max knew he was old enough to do everything. Mom made sure Max took out the trash. Then he helped clean the whole kitchen. When he was done with that, Dad had Max out in the garage. After changing the oil in the SUV, they worked all afternoon on cleaning the garage from top to bottom. All Max wanted to do was sit in front of the TV. But his sister dragged him upstairs and had him fold all the laundry and put it away in everyone’s rooms.

Max didn’t use the excuse to his parents anymore of “But I’m only a kid.”

When the Lord appointed Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nations, Jeremiah made the excuse to his Heavenly Parent, “Ah, Lord God! I really do not know how to speak! I am only a child” (Jeremiah 1:6)! Jeremiah is the son of a priest. His call is unique in the Old Testament as he receives his call before he is even born. “The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I set you apart. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations’” (Jeremiah 1:4,5). No other prophet in the Old Testament is like this.

Jeremiah’s ministry was during the last days of the kingdom of Judah from about 627 to 585 BC. His ministry consists mostly of dark warnings about the destruction of Jerusalem and about the captivity in Babylon. Jeremiah’s prophecies also contain a few glimmers of gospel hope that would be fulfilled through Christ.

Jeremiah was probably only a teenager or in his early twenties when he begins his prophetic ministry. That’s why this is a fitting text for this Youth Sunday. You young people – children, teens, and young adults – will hear people say that you are the future of the Church. They are partly right. You are the future of the Christian Church. You are also the present.

One of the largest groups we have at Water of Life is the teens. We are blessed to have 40 teens from 6th – 12th grades. That’s a lot of youth for a church our size. You teens are the ones inviting your friends to come to worship with you. Next week we’ll have the Baptism and adult confirmation of Layton, a college student. This is happening because Layton’s girlfriend, a Shoreland senior, invited him to worship and adult instruction classes with her.

You teens are very active in the ministry of our church – ushering, singing, playing, serving, canvassing, helping with Happy Birthday Jesus and Soccer Camp. Most of you are busier than the adults. Yet, you fit God’s service into your packed schedule.

The people who are attending our adult instruction classes are all young adults. They’ve been invited by a friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, fiancé, or spouse. We finally have a full Church Council. Three of those men on the Council are under the age of 30.

You young people are not the future of Christ’s Church. You are the present.

That’s a lot of pressure!

You can be like Max and Jeremiah. You can make the excuse, “But I’m only a child.” Why did Max make excuses? He was afraid. He didn’t have confidence in his abilities. He was probably a little lazy, too. Why did Jeremiah make excuses? He was afraid of what would happen to him as a prophet.

You might be afraid, too. Afraid that you don’t have the ability to speak or teach or be patient. Afraid you don’t have the ability to serve in the church with your mind, voice, or hands.

Afraid of your lack of knowledge for sharing God’s Word. Afraid of rejection when you attempt to correct and rebuke your friends of their sins (2 Timothy 4:2). Afraid of being canceled on social media when you quote scriptural sound doctrine to counter what the culture’s itching ears want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3). Afraid of being bullied by those trapped by their own desires when you tell then what God desires (2 Timothy 4:4). Afraid of being thrown in jail for praying outside an abortion clinic, or harassed for speaking against woke policies in your college, or being labeled something awful because you love God and his Word more than you love the people of this world.

Probably worst of all – for all of us older people, but especially you younger people – is the fear of being left out. Apart from the group. Isolated. Alone and lonely.

Jeremiah was afraid of what would happen to him. He had good reason to be afraid. After several years of preaching, Jeremiah’s family turned against him and even plotted to kill him (Jeremiah 11:21-23). Over the years, he was whipped and put in the stocks (Jeremiah 20:1-3), attacked by a mob (Jeremiah 26:1-9), ridiculed (Jeremiah 28), threatened by the king (Jeremiah 36:26), and thrown in an empty well (Jeremiah 38:1-6).

Perhaps worst of all, Jeremiah was alone. He was not allowed to marry (Jeremiah 16:2), and his family abandoned him. The people turned against him and didn’t believe him. He was alone with the knowledge of the judgment coming upon Judah.

The Lord gives young Jeremiah and you in your youth this promise, “Do not be afraid of them, because I am with you, and I will rescue you, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 1:8).

God desires to be with his children. God walked with and talked with his children until they were separated by man’s fall into sin. From that moment on, God has been working to restore the relationship between him and his fallen children. He does this by establishing his presence with

his people again and again. He finally did that with the incarnation of his divine Son taking on human flesh. It’s a true Epiphany Moment.

The Lord is present as he reaches out, touches Jeremiah’s mouth, and puts his words in the mouth of his young prophet. Jeremiah writes, “The Lord stretched out his hand and touched my mouth. The Lord said to me: There! I have now placed my words in your mouth” (Jeremiah 1:9). This is like what God does with the prophets Isaiah and Ezekial where the Lord touches and prepares the mouths of his prophets. The Lord cleanses, prepares, and fills the mouths of his prophets, so they might be able to proclaim the holy Word of the Lord.

Does it help you to know that the Word of the Lord is powerful? God says to Jeremiah, “Look, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant” (Jeremiah 1:10). God’s Word uproots and tears down, destroys, and overthrows, it builds and plants. You can count on it accomplishing exactly what the Lord wants it to.

Jeremiah was nervous when God called him to be his prophet. He made the excuse, “Ah, Lord God! I really do not know how to speak! I am only a child!” Jeremiah was right – he wasn't up to the job, and he knew it.

But he missed one thing – and God pointed it out. God said, “I have placed my words in your mouth.” It’s as if God said, “Don't worry. It’s not about you. It’s about Me. You don’t have to be smart enough or strong enough or good enough. I have put my words in your mouth, and they will do the job.” And they did. Jeremiah spent the rest of his life speaking God’s Word to the people. He did the job God had for him.

God has called you, too, to certain jobs. They may not be flashy jobs like being a prophet. It may not even be cool jobs like a pastor or a teacher. More likely, God is calling you to humble jobs one day of being a spouse, parent, child, sibling, and friend. You may be a caregiver, an encourager, a pray-er, and a protector. You may even think that you have no job at all, because at this point in your life – because you are a child or elderly – your role is mainly to receive care from others. But that’s a job! And a hard one, at times.

What happens when you feel overwhelmed by your job, whatever it may be? You can turn to the same source of help Jeremiah did. “I have put my Word in your mouth,” God said to him. “You aren’t doing it alone.” And to us he says, “I have put my Holy Spirit in your heart. You are not alone. I laid down my life at the cross to make you mine, and I will not forsake you now. I am present with you in the waters of Baptism, in my body and blood upon the Lord’s altar, and in my holy Word. I am with you as a Shepherd to protect you from Satan, as the Divine Physician to heal your broken heart, and as your Champion to lead you into spiritual battle. I will work through you and your job – with all your faults and weaknesses – and I will use you to bring glory to my name.”

The Lord knows you. He cares about you. He has plans for you. Like Jeremiah, the Lord’s plans started even before you were born. He planned for you before this world was formed. His plans included a cradle where his Son, your Savior, was born. His plans included a cross where his Son, your Savior, was sacrificed. His plans included a tomb where his Son, your Savior, rose from the dead. All because God is planning and preparing a room for you to be present with him forever in his heaven.

The Lord has formed you. Set you apart. Made you his own. He is with you. He’s placed his words in your mouth. You are the future of the Christian Church. You are also the present. Don’t

use the excuse of “But I’m only a child.” The Lord has equipped you for the future, for the present, for this very moment. Amen.

Keep a clear head in every situation. Bear hardship. Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry (2 Timothy 4:5). Amen.

Speak with Boldness by Pastor Klusmeyer

Speak with Boldness

There had been an absolute whirlwind of events in the lives of the Apostles. During Passover, they had journeyed with Jesus to Jerusalem and helplessly watched as he was arrested, tried, and crucified. They huddled in fear in those days after the crucifixion wondering what this meant. Then on Easter morning that fear turns to joy as they see face to face the glory of the Lord in their resurrected Savior. Over the next few months, they see the resurrected Lord several more times. But then the day arrives when they watch in awe as Jesus ascends into heaven with the promise that he will return on the Last Day.

Fifty days after Easter the Lord fulfills his promise and sends the Holy Spirit to the Apostles. These men who had huddled in fear that the same Jewish leaders who had crucified Jesus would soon come after them are now filled with boldness as they begin teaching and preaching that the same Jesus who had been crucified has now risen from the dead. The Apostles knew the risks. Jesus had promised that they would face hatred and persecution for preaching and teaching in his name. Jesus had said, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated me first. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, for that very reason the world hates you. Remember the saying I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too.”

Peter, John, and the other Apostles had been boldly preaching the Word of God in the city of Jerusalem. In Acts chapter 4 we hear that Peter and John went up to the temple one day. As they approached, they saw a man who had been lame from birth who asked them for some money. Peter replied, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I will give you. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” Immediately the man was healed. He jumped up and began praising God. The people who saw this miracle were amazed.

Peter used this opportunity to boldly proclaim the truth that this man had been healed by the power of Jesus. The same Jesus that the people of Jerusalem and their leaders put to death. The Jewish leaders hear this commotion and are scandalized. They were very upset because Peter and John were teaching the people and proclaiming the resurrection from the dead in connection with Jesus. They arrested them and put them in jail until the next day because it was already evening. They put Peter and John on trial and commanded them to stop preaching and teaching about Jesus. But Peter and John are not afraid. They know that God has commanded them to keep on preaching no matter the opposition they face. As they stand before the same group that condemned their Lord to death they boldly proclaim, “Decide whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God. For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

This story reminds us that we have a powerful foe who will do everything in his power to hinder the proclamation of the Gospel. As Christians, we face this challenge every day of our lives. The world does not want to hear the truth of God’s Word. The voices of “science” and “reason” will tell us that God’s Word is not truth but foolishness. The voices of “culture” tell us that it is “unloving” to call sin, sin and to insist that the only path to eternal life and truth is found in Christ alone. As we face the forces of darkness in this world that want to obstruct the light of the Gospel we turn to God in prayer as the Apostles did and ask that God would give us the strength to speak with boldness.

The truth of God’s Word has always been challenged by the forces of evil in this world. We see this at the very beginning when Satan asks Eve that terrible question, “Has God really said…” Satan wants to cast doubt on the truth of God’s Word. He wants to undermine our faith and put up roadblocks and opposition wherever and however he can. He turned the people of God against Moses, Elisha, Jeremiah, and all the other prophets. He hardened the hearts of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and other members of the Jewish ruling body against Jesus.

We will face opposition in our lives as well. Our friends, family members, co-workers, and even our own sinful natures do not want to hear the blinding truth of God’s Word. We do not like being reminded that we are sinners. We do not like hearing the Law’s terrible demand: be holy as I the Lord your God am Holy. We do not like the powerful condemnation of the Ten Commandments that reminds us of the countless ways we have sinned against God in our thoughts, words, and actions. We have a choice. Will we proclaim the Word of the Lord boldly to a hostile world or will we cower in fear? Will we let the love of Christ shine from our hearts like

a lamp on a stand, or will we hide the light of our faith under a basket and conform to the patterns of this world to avoid judgment and ridicule?

Peter and John had a choice as well. After standing before the same group of men who had condemned their Lord to death and being placed in jail, they could have stopped preaching and teaching. They could have changed their message to make it more acceptable to the chief priests and elders of the people. They could have done the easy thing and just gone back to fishing. But they did not. We are told that after they were released, they went back and immediately told their friends what had happened. And what was their response? They praised God and asked for boldness to continue preaching the message of truth!

They did this because they understood that rejection was not proof of failure. They praised God because they knew that speaking the Truth would always be met with opposition. They knew from Psalm 2 that the nations of the earth would rage, and the rulers would take their stand against the Lord and his Anointed. They had seen this happen with their own eyes. They had seen Herod, Pilate, the chief priests, and the people of Jerusalem gather together against Jesus. But they also knew that this was all according to God’s plan.

They had seen the results. They had seen the resurrected Lord. They knew the wonderful truth that on the cross Jesus crushed the head of Satan and defeated the power of all those who opposed the will of God. When Jesus rose victorious from the grave, he shattered the power of death and hell and gave us the certainty that God had accepted his sacrifice as payment for our sins. Even now the rulers of the world may take their stand against the Lord and his Anointed. They may ridicule and mock us. They may command us not to teach and preach as they did to the Apostles, but our Lord scoffs and laughs at them. The power of the devil and the rulers of this world is insignificant when compared to the power of the Lord of Hosts who created the heavens and the earth and everything in them with the Word of his mouth.

This is the promise that has been given to us as well. We have a God who is mighty to save. We have a God who loved us so much that he became one with us so that he could suffer and die for us. After the Apostles prayed for boldness God shook the place where they were gathered. God has given us signs as well. The Bible is a record of every promise that God has ever made and how he has kept them. It shows us his love and faithfulness. It tells us of the limitless love of God who sent his one and only Son to suffer and die for our sins. It shares with us the promise that through the waters of baptism, we have been reborn and sealed to God as his dearly beloved children. Our sins have been completely washed away by the perfect blood of Christ, and we have been clothed with his righteousness. Through the Lord’s Supper, we receive a visible and tangible reminder of this promise as we eat and drink the very body and blood of our Savior who died on the cross to save us.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ we will face opposition and hatred from this world. The world will hate and reject us as they hated and rejected our Lord and Savior. As we face the forces of evil in this world, we pray that we will be filled with the Holy Spirit and continue to speak the Word of God with boldness. Let us be certain that rejection is not proof of failure. We know that the power of God’s Word can never be defeated. We know that we have a message of truth that those who are lost in the darkness of sin need to hear. We are offering them the very Words of eternal life. Let us go forth and boldly proclaim the message of the Gospel with the confidence that our Mighty God has already won for us the battle. Amen,

2 Timothy 1:7-8 -- For God did not give us a timid spirit, but a spirit of power and love and sound judgment. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Instead, join with me in suffering for the gospel while relying on the power of God.

The day they tried to kill the preacher by Pastor Zarling

The day they tried to kill the preacher

Mission Festival sermon for St. Paul, Slinger, WI

Luke 4:16-30 16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As was his custom, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: 18The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, 19and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. 20He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22They all spoke well of him and were impressed by the words of grace that came from his mouth. And they kept saying, “Isn't this Joseph's son?” 23He told them, “Certainly you will quote this proverb to me, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ Do here in your hometown everything we heard you did in Capernaum.” 24And he said, “Amen I tell you: No prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25But truly I tell you: There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three years and six months, while a great famine came over all the land. 26Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow of Zarephath, in Sidon. 27And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was healed except Naaman the Syrian.” 28All those who were in the synagogue were filled with rage when they heard these things. 29They got up and drove him out of the town. They led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30But he passed through the middle of them and went on his way.

Jesus quoted Isaiah: The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the afflicted (Isaiah 61:1). Amen.

I don’t know if any of you have done any kind of mission work. But mission work is filled with rejection. I have canvassed thousands of homes and had plenty of doors slammed in my face. Three decades ago, when I was a pastor of a mission church, I did phone canvassing. I’ve had plenty of conversations cut off by having the phone slammed down. (That was back with the old phones where people felt satisfaction from physically slamming down the receiver. It’s not quite the same feeling with a cell phone just pressing “end call.”)

Once in my mission congregation in Radcliff, KY, we had first-time visitors hear our announcement about closed communion. They stormed out of the sanctuary into our fellowship area and started cussing. The worshipers in the sanctuary could hear a string of four-letter words that were not appropriate for anywhere – especially a church.

When we are doing mission work for Christ, for his church here at St. Paul, or starting new mission churches in the Wisconsin Synod, we should expect rejection. People don’t want to confess their sins. They want their lifestyle choices accepted and affirmed. They don’t believe in sin, so they have no need for a Savior. There is no threat of hell, so there is no purpose for going to heaven. They make themselves gods, so they don’t want the true Lord God.

Be prepared for experiencing rejection when you are doing mission work. We hear in the Gospel today how Jesus experienced rejection in his hometown of Nazareth. This was the day they tried to kill the preacher.

Jesus had come home. The Nazarenes had heard about all the great miracles Jesus had been doing in the surrounding country and how he was preaching with authority. They filled up the synagogue on the Sabbath. During the Divine Service the hometown boy read from Isaiah 61. A big time Messianic prophecy! It’s where God promises to send a Savior. He would be the anointed Messianic preacher bringing spiritual healing for the brokenhearted, freedom for those in spiritual captivity, and spiritual sight for the spiritually blind.

At first the people were impressed. They liked what he had to say. But then Jesus preached some specific, brutal, attention-getting Law. He talked about how they and their ancestors had always been stubborn in their unbelief, deafness, and blindness. Jesus pointed out that because of their hard-hearted unbelief, God took his grace and miracles to the Gentiles – Elijah gave unending flour and oil to the widow in Zarephath and Elisha cured Naaman the Syrian of his leprosy.

The Nazarenes had heard how Jesus had been healing folks, driving out demons, and changing water into wine. That’s what they wanted. They wanted Jesus to be a nice guy. Compliment them. Praise them. Wow them with free things. Instead, they heard stinging words of rebuke. They heard specific Law … and it hurt. They didn’t like his message. Everything went downhill fast. In fact, that’s what the crowd wanted to do – throw Jesus down a hill … fast. That was the day they wanted to kill the preacher.

During last year’s spring break, four of our Water of Life high school seniors and three adults went on a mission trip to Hood River, Oregon. The week before we arrived, the pastor and the people of the church placed flyers on one thousand homes to let them know we would be coming on certain dates to collect food for the local food pantry.

We asked those who answered the door, “What do you think people want to see and hear in a church?” One lady answered that question, “I want Jesus to be like me. A Jesus who smokes weed.”

We invite people to get to know the real Jesus, but their hearts are stubborn and resistant, feeling no need to repent, and no hunger or thirst for God’s Word. They don’t think they need salvation, and they certainly don’t need conversion. They want a Jesus like them or who accepts them without making a change in their hearts and lives.

If you do door canvassing in Slinger, you’ll have people hide from you, yell at you, sick their dogs on you, or slam the door in your face. But thank the Lord that you and Pastor Golisch won’t ever have to experience phone canvassing. There is nothing more soul-sucking than phone canvassing.

You’ll invite friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to worship with you. Many will flat-out say no. Others might come for a while and then abruptly stop. You’ll meet lots of people who only want a quick and convenient faith. They don’t want to be involved in your church with a commitment of membership and a consistency of confessional Lutheranism. They don’t want the heat of challenges, the persistence of doctrines, or the pain of persecution that comes with Christianity. They will be acting naturally … just like those Nazarenes.

But notice what Jesus did not do that day in his hometown. In response to their rejection and violence, Jesus does not lash out; he does not berate the people; he doesn’t call down a legion of angels to drive the people off the cliff. He could have done that. He had the divine right to do that. But he doesn’t. Instead, he simply walked away. Calmly. Quietly. Not because he wanted to leave them, but to continue his work. To continue teaching. For he had a job to do.

It wasn’t time for him to die yet. That would come three years later – not on a hill outside of Nazareth, but on a skull-shaped hill outside of Jerusalem. Not by falling off a cliff, but by being raised up on a cross. To lay down his life for these very people. To bear the punishment for their sins, for their anger, for their rejection, for their murderous intent against him, and for a whole host of other sins. So that they could be forgiven. That they could believe – not in his miracles – but in his sacrifice.

That is what Jesus always does. Jesus gives the opposite of what we deserve. Instead of punishment he gives peace. Instead of anger he gives grace. Instead of abandonment he gives love. Instead of throwing us off the cliff, he went quietly and purposefully and intentionally to the cross. He said, “Father, throw me off the cliff. Throw me to the serpent. Punish me instead of them. Father, forgive them.”

This is the message we need to hear and believe. This is the message we need to preach and promote. You’ve been blessed to do that here in Slinger for 152 years. Our Wisconsin Synod has been blessed to do that for 175 years throughout the United States and around the world. God wants his kingdom to continue to expand through more mission work.

The Wisconsin Synod has created a goal of starting 100 new home mission churches over 10 years. That’s 10 new dots on the map throughout North America each year from 2023 to 2033. During the same time, we want to fund 75 enhancement grants to help existing congregations who wish to start a new outreach effort to reach more souls.

But more outreach often means more rejection. More new churches may mean that some older churches might close. More pastors taking calls to churches with growing communities may mean it’s harder for churches with diminishing communities to attract pastors. These are difficult issues. They take time and discussion. They take prayer and trust in the Lord of the Church that he’ll lead our pastors, churches, and church body to make the right decisions with difficult circumstances.

Let’s be honest. We want ease, not difficulty. We want comfort, not the cross. We want predictability. But instead of predictability, we have something better – we have God’s promise: “Just as the rain and the snow come down from the sky and do not return there unless they first water the earth, make it give birth, and cause it to sprout, so that it gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater, in the same way my word that goes out from my mouth will not return to me empty. Rather, it will accomplish whatever I please, and it will succeed in the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11). God’s Word works. It will either be rejected or accepted. It will either harden or convert. It will either create enemies or create saints.

Jesus was rejected by those who were closest and most familiar with him. Rather than considering this rejection to be failure and then adjusting his message, Jesus calls attention to the fact that this is how it had always been and would always go. Old Testament prophets like Elijah and Elisha were similarly rejected within Israel’s borders. As a result, their message and miracles were given to outsiders. In the same way, Jesus’ rejection in his own hometown served as the impetus for taking his message and miracles elsewhere.

Just as they did in Nazareth, Jesus’ words will always offend. The people in our mission fields will not want to be confronted with their sins and their need for a Savior. Those who believe that all religions are the same won’t like the message that salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone. People will think it’s silly to believe that some drops of water save, or that some bread and wine is Christ’s body and blood, or some words from an old book can really bring comfort and consolation to twenty-first century problems. The people in America are no different than the people in Nazareth. They will all try to kill the preacher.

The words of Jesus will always offend. Just like the unwelcome diagnosis from the doctor is offensive. Just like the life-saving treatment with painful side effects is offensive. But what causes Jesus’ words to hurt is also what give them the power to heal. What Jesus preaches will often be a bitter pill to swallow, but it is exactly the pill our Good Physician knows we need. They may try to kill the preacher, but they can’t stop him. Jesus will continue to preach, continue to teach, continue to baptize, commune, comfort, heal, and save.

Don’t ever let rejection get you down. Jesus often turns rejection into reception. That’s what happened with Staci and Justin and their family. When Stacie and Justin were young adults, they rejected their WELS church and became involved in paganism … even Satanism. Later they found the Church of Latter Day Saints. Well, Latter Day Saints found them by knocking on their door.

Friends and family kept encouraging Justin and Stacie to check out our church in Racine. Last year, they enrolled their three children in our Lutheran elementary school. Justin and Stacie took adult

instruction classes with me and became members. I baptized their three children that same day. And now Stacie is pursuing becoming a WELS teacher.

Keep on inviting your friends and family to church with you. Keep on inviting them to make use of your preschool and childcare. Support the ministry of your church and church body with increased offerings and intensified prayers. Support the aggressive 100 in 10 outreach mission plan of our Wisconsin Synod. Jesus did not let rejection stop him. Don’t let rejection stop you. People may try to kill the preacher. But that preacher is their Great Physician of body and soul. Lord willing, through your efforts and Christ’s grace, he will change their rejection into reception. Amen.

Jesus quoted Isaiah: He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance for our God (Isaiah 61:1-2). Amen.

Married to Christ by Pastor Zarling

Married to Christ

Isaiah 62:5 5For just as a young man marries a virgin, your sons will marry you, and just as a bridegroom rejoices over a bride, your God will rejoice over you.

I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he would strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner self, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:16-17). Amen.

Perhaps you’ve seen an expression of unity by the bride and groom at a wedding. Perhaps it was at your wedding or another wedding. Maybe it was a unity candle, where two separate candles are used to light a single candle. Or unity sand, where the groom and bride alternate pouring different colored sand into a glass container. Or a unity cross, where two large puzzle pieces are brought together to form a cross.

Yesterday, at the wedding of Caleb and Emma, was the first time I had been part of a hand-binding ceremony. After making their marriage vows, I placed a cord over their arms. They then wrapped the cords around their hands, symbolizing their unity to each other and Christ. I preached on Ecclesiastes 4:12 where Solomon writes that a cord of three strands is not easily broken. That cord of husband, wife, and God.

Since we’re talking about weddings today, did you know that Jesus was married? You are quite familiar with Jesus’ bride.

She’s not the kind of woman you would expect the holy Son of God to pursue. She argues, fights, can’t hold her tongue, but certainly holds grudges. She is mean, hurtful, and spiteful. She is passive aggressive. Other times she’s just plain aggressive. She is anxious and worried. She is fearful and untrusting. She has a bad temper and a potty mouth.

She has a very good Dad, though, who has taken excellent care of her. He provides her with everything she needs and most of what she wants. Yet, she’s not content, so she sneakily steals from others. She’s constantly confused about her identity. She allows her desires to control her. She does whatever feels good. She’s from a pagan culture. She’s certainly not a church-going lady.

She’s been married before. Her ex treated her horribly. She tends to sleep around a lot. She’s the last one who should be wearing a white gown for her wedding.

I think you know Jesus’ wife quite well. She eats at your table and sleeps in your bed.

For those of you who are married, how did you meet your future spouse? Men, did she catch your eye? Ladies, did your friends introduce you? Did you use a dating app and swiped right? After you met and you learned that this person is like everything I described about Jesus’ bride, would you still have married him or her?

Jesus knew everything about his future bride … yet he still pursued her. In fact, he didn’t stop pursuing her until he rescued her from her empty way of life. He didn’t stop until he redeemed her from her broken life. Every marriage counselor in the world would have advised him to let her go and find someone else – someone more attractive, more stable, more honest – more marriage material.

Yet Jesus didn’t stop. He paid off her debts, her guilt, and her shame. He knew he could save her. And even change her. Jesus is so in love with her that he gave up his life for her. He let his accusers bind him, mock him, spit on him, slap him, beat him, nail him, and kill him. All without

saying a word. As a wedding gift to his bride, Jesus died a death and endured a wrath that was meant for her.

You know Jesus’ bride very well, don’t you? It’s you!

This week I asked the third graders, “Who was Jesus’ wife?” They replied that he wasn’t married. I said he was. So they started naming names. I corrected them and said, “Jesus is married to you.” They replied, “What?!” “Even the boys?!” “That’s weird!”

I’ve been blessed to perform the weddings for many couples. Every groom is the same. At the wedding, he’s standing in the front. He’s anxious. His forehead is sweating. His hands are clammy. He shuffles his feet. He can’t wait to see his bride walking down the aisle. A big smile fills his face when he sees her. Tears roll down his cheeks. There is his beautiful bride!

That’s exactly the way Jesus feels about you! “For just as a young man marries a virgin, your sons will marry you, and just as a bridegroom rejoices over a bride, your God will rejoice over you” (Isaiah 62:5).

That joy and delight is what God has for those who believe in him. You make God smile. Allow your jaw to drop in awe at that beautiful truth.

We know what makes God happy – total perfection. God says, “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). We also know that God hates sin and will absolutely never allow any sinner to enter into his kingdom. God says, “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful” (Revelation 21:27). Yet he takes delight in you. Seeing you makes his face light up like a groom seeing his bride on his wedding day.

Before we breathed our infant breath, we were helplessly conceived in sin. That sin makes us selfish, rude, irritable, impatient, and independent. Before we took our infant breath, we were sinners. So, the perfect, sinless Son of God left heaven to be born as an infant taking his first breaths as God and man in one person. Thirty-three years later the Son of God stopped breathing on the cross. He took our sins upon his perfect, sinless body. He gave us his holiness. He laid down his life for us. He gave himself up for us. He loved us with a divine love so that we can now love each other.

The Bible calls Jesus our Bridegroom and you and I as Christians are his bride. He sacrificed everything to win us back from the devil so bride and Bridegroom can be together forever in the heavenly home he prepared for us.

No matter what is going on in your life, or what others think when they look at you, God looks at you with loving eyes. What he sees gives him great joy and will continue to give him great joy for all of eternity.

Did Jesus ever marry? Yes, he married you! He didn’t marry a single woman because he came to make each of us his bride. Though our faith falters, Jesus makes a vow to you, and he is faithful. Though we break our vows, he remains vigilant. In Baptism, Jesus washes you clean of your sin and clothes you with white righteousness. Though we shed tears of regret and shame, Jesus assures us of comfort and forgiveness when he feeds us his wedding feast, “Take and eat, this is my body; take and drink, this is my blood for the forgiveness of sins.” No one has ever seen such a husband as Jesus.

The third graders didn’t get it. It’s a little too figurative for them. I pray you understand this beautiful wedding picture God’s Word paints for us today. Did Jesus ever marry? Yes, he married you!

Jesus’ sacrificial, merciful, gracious love now allows you to express a sacrificial, merciful, gracious love to each other. Jesus forgives you. This allows you to forgive each other. In his compassion he put you first, even before his own life. That compassion allows you to be compassionate to each other, putting the needs of others ahead of your own.

“Then you will be a beautiful crown in the Lord's hand, and a royal diadem in the palm of your God. You will never again be called Abandoned, and your land will never again be called Desolation, for you will be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land will be called Married, because the Lord delights in you, and your land will be married” (Isaiah 62:3-4).

Though these words were first directed to ancient Israel, they also apply to us today. We are not forsaken. We have not been left abandoned in the ruins of our sin. Instead, God has made a way for us to rise from the rubble, to become what he has always wanted us to be – his beloved and beautiful bride. Just like you have a nickname for your spouse, Jesus has a nickname for you – “My Delight Is in Her.”

Jesus will have and hold you for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health. He will love and cherish you. He won’t even let death part you from him. He is the eternal Bridegroom who died and lives forever. When Death threatens to rob him of his beloved bride, he rescues her from Death so she might live with him forever.

St. John writes, “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). We may not always feel like that beautiful bride coming down the aisle in a gown of white, yet in Jesus’ holy eyes, this is exactly who we are. We are what he calls us – holy. He dresses us in his righteous robes. While we may not see it now, John tells us that one day, we will see ourselves as Christ sees us – the bride fully accepted and made perfect by her Bridegroom.

You are the object of Christ’s sacrificial love. You are the most valuable thing on this planet. You have a calling and a purpose here for a reason. To be loved, what do you need? You need someone to love you. To have value, what do you need? Someone to value you. To have a calling and a purpose, what do you need? You need someone to call you and give you that purpose. Jesus is that Bridegroom who loves you, values you, and calls you.

So, go to Christ. He has bound himself to you. On the cross, Jesus reached out his nail-pierced hand to you. This was love. Jesus loves you more than you will ever know. He loves you with all his heart. The problem is not that you don’t love Jesus enough. The truth is that you don’t know how much Jesus loves you. Because if you would know this, you would want nothing more than to cherish being bound to Christ and live beautifully and solely for your Bridegroom. Amen.

Now to him, who is able, according to the power that is at work within us, to do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! (Ephesians 3:20-21) Amen.

One cord to bind them all by Pastor Zarling

One cord to bind them all

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 9Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their hard work. 10If one of them falls, his companion can lift him up. Pity the person who falls and has no one else to lift him up. 11What’s more, if two lie down, they can keep warm, but how can one person keep warm alone? 12Though an attacker can overpower one person, two people together can stand up against him. A rope with three strands is not quickly snapped.

Caleb and Emma, you will recognize these words:

Three rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,

Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,

Nine for mortal men doomed to die,

One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne;

In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie.

One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,

One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them;

In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie.

For those who don’t know, this is from J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.” “One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them” refers to the inscription on the one ring forged by Sauron, the Dark Lord.

This inscription is revealed when Gandalf examines the ring, which Frodo inherits. The ring represents absolute power, allowing Sauron to control the other beings who possess rings tied to it – essentially “binding” them to his will. The one ring corrupts those who possess it, leading them to be influenced by its malice and will to dominate, as seen through the effects it had on characters like Gollum, Bilbo, and Frodo.

Imagine if it wasn’t a ring to bind them, but a cord. Like a cord that King Solomon mentions in our sermon text and the hand binding ceremony the two of you will do today. Also imagine it wasn’t a dark lord who binds you, but The Lord. One cord that binds them all – a cord of three strands – Caleb, Emma, and God.

Solomon wisely writes, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their hard work. If one of them falls, his companion can lift him up. Pity the person who falls and has no one else to lift him up. What’s more, if two lie down, they can keep warm, but how can one person keep warm alone? Though an attacker can overpower one person, two people together can stand up against him. A rope with three strands is not quickly snapped.”

Strength like that is exactly what you seek as you begin your life as husband and wife. It’s the kind of strength we seek in our families and friendships. It’s a strength God wants to give us so our marriages are strong and our relationships are enduring. Unfortunately, it is a strength that isn’t always utilized because of the sin of selfishness that keeps us separate from God and each other.

It isn’t always easy to give willingly of ourselves for someone else. Our nature tempts us to look after ourselves, to assert our own rights, to seek our own needs. Kind of like a Boromir, who tried to take the ring from Frodo.

What benefits are there in marriage as God blesses two people to act as one? There’s the husband who holds back his wife’s hair as she’s throwing up after another round of chemotherapy. The wife who patiently cares for her husband as he gets irritable and forgetful from his dementia. The husband who puts in long hours at work and the wife who puts in long hours in the home –

working together as one to love, support and raise their family. There’s the couple who wants an acre or more out in the country for homesteading and homeschooling. That’s what Solomon means when he writes, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their hard work. If one of them falls, his companion can lift him up. Pity the person who falls and has no one else to lift him up.”

He continues, “What’s more, if two lie down, they can keep warm, but how can one person keep warm alone?” This is more than being cold because your spouse hogs the blankets at night. God wants you to recognize the importance of sharing for the deepening of your marital relationship. Success in marriage doesn’t depend on finding the right person. It’s based on becoming the right person.

That only happens when Christ moves you put the other person’s needs ahead of your own. That’s what St. Paul said in the Epistle when he said that love is patient, kind, not envious, not boastful or arrogant, not selfish or irritable. Love is not so much about feelings as it is about commitment. Love is commitment in action.

Jesus told us exactly what kind of action is required for true and ultimate love. “Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this: that someone lays down his life for his friends” (John 15:12,13).

That’s exactly how Jesus loves us. He laid down his life on Calvary’s cross to take away our sins, including the sins of selfishness and lovelessness. His sacrificial love for us makes us as Christians able to love one another. When we do this, no one is left out in the cold.

When we’re together in marriage with our spouse, there is someone to lift us up when we fall and keep us warm when we’re cold. There is also someone to help us overcome when we’re under attack. Solomon added, “Though an attacker can overpower one person, two people together can stand up against him.”

There’s strength in numbers, be it husband and wife or good friends or family. To make the point, Martin Luther once explained that when a wise father felt that death was near, he summoned his children together and gave them a bundle of sticks to break. None of the children could break the sticks when they were together in the bundle, but when the father pulled the sticks apart, one at a time, the children could easily break them. In this way, Luther concluded, the father taught his children that their future would be secure if they stayed together and worked together (LW 15:69). There will be times when you will feel threatened, but by remaining together you will not be overwhelmed. It’s kind of like you need … a fellowship. Not a fellowship of the ring, but a fellowship of the cord – the two of you and all your Christian family, friends, pastors, and church.

If you look casually, a rope appears to contain only two strands. But it is impossible to create a braid with only two strands. If the two could be put together at all, they would quickly unravel! It takes a third strand to give strength to the other two. The third person necessary for a strong marriage is Jesus Christ. Solomon writes, “A rope with three strands is not quickly snapped.” It’s like God has placed his hands over yours and bound all three of you together. That kind of cord is not going to be snapped.

Before we breathed our infant breath, we were helplessly conceived in sin. That sin makes us selfish, rude, irritable, impatient, and independent. Before we took our infant breath, we were sinners. So, the perfect, sinless Son of God left heaven to be born as an infant taking his first breaths as God and man in one person. Thirty-three years later the Son of God stopped breathing on the cross. He took our sins upon his perfect, sinless body. He gave us his holiness. He laid

down his life for us. He gave himself up for us. He loved us with a divine love so that we can now love each other.

The Bible calls Jesus our Bridegroom and you and I as Christians are his Bride. He sacrificed everything to win us back from the devil so Bride and Bridegroom can be together forever in the heavenly home he prepared for us.

Jesus’ sacrificial, merciful, gracious love allows you, Caleb and Emma. to express a sacrificial, merciful, gracious love to each other. Jesus forgives you. This allows you to forgive each other. In his compassion he put you first, even before his own life. That compassion allows you to be compassionate to each other, putting the other’s needs ahead of your own.

Jesus is the third strand in your marriage. He is the One who knows when you fall, when you’re cold, when you’re attacked. He knows when you sin, when you’re feeling guilty, and when you feel like a failure as a spouse or a parent in your future. He knows when you need his forgiveness, grace, mercy, healing, and compassion. Because he loves you, lifts you, warms you and protects you, now you can do the same for each other.

The most successful marriages I’ve seen involve two people who agree on what they’re doing. There’s really little ambiguity. When you get the basic stuff settled, you can have real brilliance. Real success. That brilliance and success comes from the two of you relying on each other. But much more than that – the two of you are relying on the Lord. He is the third strand in your cord. One cord to bind them all. Amen.

Appearances Can Be Deceiving by Pastor Klusmeyer

Appearances Can Be Deceiving

It’s a frosty winter day at a church in a large city. The people are excited because today they get to meet their new pastor. About 10 minutes before the service a disheveled and dirty man stubbles in. His jacket is old and filthy, he has an unruly mop of shaggy grey hair, and he doesn’t smell very good. The head elder quietly asks the man to leave because it’s a special day of celebration for the church. The man humbly asks if he can just sit in the back for a few minutes and warm up. The elder reluctantly agrees. As the church bells ring the man gets up and starts walking to the front of the church! The head elder is appalled; you can hear the whispers from the people in the pews. The man boldly stands in the very front of the church and faces the congregation. He takes off the dirty winter coat and underneath he’s wearing a nice shirt and tie. He removes the shaggy grey and reveals that he is their new pastor. He knew that appearances can be deceiving and wanted to see how people would greet a stranger who didn’t appear the way a person coming into a church should.

This is just a story, but it illustrates a critical point. We tend to judge things by their outward appearances. This tendency is so common that we have several cliches to describe it: “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” “Beauty is only skin deep,” and “All that glitters is not gold.” These cliches all express the same idea that appearances can be deceiving. And if we know this to be true in our interactions with things in this world, it is even more true when we are dealing with the things of God. Our Lord often chooses to work in ways that don’t meet our limited human expectations. We wouldn’t think to look for the king of the universe as a helpless baby lying in a manger or hanging from a cross. But this is exactly the way that our God chooses to reveal himself to us. He takes the humble and ordinary things of this world and makes them extraordinary. Simple words of faith shared by a child, water poured on the head of an infant, bread and wine shared by a congregation seem like such ordinary things, but they are powerful miracles of God that give life and faith to his people. Appearances can be deceiving. God does not meet our expectations, because he vastly exceeds our expectations.

The people of Jesus day also judged things by their appearance. God had revealed much about the Savior in the prophecies of the Old Testament and the people of Israel were eagerly awaiting the coming of their Savior. When they heard the fiery preaching of John in the desert, they wondered if he could be the One they had been waiting for. Like Samuel in our lesson today they were only looking at the outward appearance of John, instead of listening to the message of truth he was telling them. How often do we do the same thing? Do we make assumptions about others based on their appearance without getting to know them? Are we quick to judge and slow to listen? Are we reluctant to show love to someone because they don’t appear to be someone who would respond well, or are someone we would not like to associate with? We often make snap judgments about others. Like the people in the opening story, we sometimes think that we are better or more deserving of God’s love than others. John understood that he was only the forerunner of Christ. He gives us a powerful reminder to look at our own lives and realize that we too are not worthy even to untie the laces of our Savior’s sandals.

This is why John must have been confused when Jesus came to him to be baptized. Jesus was perfect and didn’t need to have any sins that needed to be forgiven. This is why John was confused. But Jesus needed to be baptized so that he could fulfill all the commands of his Father. The baptism of Jesus marks the beginning of Jesus' public ministry that would culminate in his death and resurrection. Just like we heard how David was anointed as king with oil and the Holy Spirit to show him as God’s chosen king, Jesus is now anointed with water and the Holy Spirit to show that he is God’s chosen instrument of salvation. When the heavens open and God speaks, and the Holy Spirit descends like a dove there can be no doubt whatsoever that Jesus is the promised Messiah who comes to save all people from their sins.

God’s powerful voice from heaven announces that Jesus is his Son and that he is well pleased in him. Jesus needed to be both God and man so that he could suffer and die for our sins. As the true Son of God, he could keep the law perfectly and be the only person that God was ever well pleased with. Because he was true man he could suffer and die. When Christ died on the cross, he took the sins of the entire world upon himself and was able to pay for them because he was true God. He then rose triumphantly from the grave and won for us salvation and eternal life. God chose Jesus to suffer and die because he was well pleased with him, he chose us for life even though there is nothing good in us. This is the amazing message of his love which he freely gives to us through the blessing of baptism.

Jesus did not appear to meet the expectations the people had for their Messiah. In the same way, baptism appears to be unexceptional. Human expectations are that for something profound to happen we need special symbols, rites, and words. We mistakenly think that for baptism to work we need special water administered in a special way. But God does not choose to reveal himself to us in special ways, he prefers to remain hidden behind ordinary people, using ordinary water, but speaking the amazing and extraordinary words of his grace. Baptism is an amazing blessing because it gives life to those who are dead in their sins. It is a washing and renewal that connects us directly to the forgiveness that Christ won for us on the cross. It is a free and gracious gift that we do nothing to receive. And this is another way that baptism does not meet our expectations.

By nature, we are inclined to believe that we need to do something to earn the love of our God. We think that if we try hard enough or are good and worthy enough this will make God love us. But the truth is that no matter how much we strive and struggle we will never be good enough to pay for a single one of our sins. Just like babies can do nothing to help with their baptisms, we too can do nothing to earn the grace of God. As Paul tells us in Titus 3, “he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Baptism is the visible sign that our God has sealed us to himself. He made us his own children and made us heirs of his eternal kingdom.

Our baptism is a constant reminder that no matter how much we sin, no matter how often we are unfaithful to our God he remains faithful to us. In baptism, God pledges to wash and forgive us of all our sins. We have been reborn as one of his dear children and nothing we do can change that truth. God has pledged to be faithful to his children and welcome with open arms those who repent of their sins no matter how great they may be. Baptism makes us alive in Christ and empowers us to constantly struggle against the impulses of our sinful nature.

Luther reminds us in his explanation of baptism that baptism empowers us for the battle we fight each day against our sinful nature. Baptism means that the Old Adam should be drowned by daily contrition and repentance and that all its evil deeds and desires be put to death. It also means that a new person should daily arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. This is what it means to be reborn through the washing of water and the Word. We struggle each day to drown our sinful nature and live according to the command of God. We seek to live in humility and faithfulness. We strive to keep from making snap judgments about others based on their appearance and instead show the love of Christ to everyone we meet.

My friends our expectations can often lead us astray like they did the people in that fictional congregation. We all know how foolish we can be when we make assumptions about the things of this world. That problem is so much greater when we start dealing with the things of God. God chooses to work with us through means that seem to not meet our expectations. Their appearance is always deceiving! But we give praise and thanks to our God for choosing to save us in such an amazing way. If we had to work out our own salvation, we would never be able to do enough or be good enough to save ourselves. But the amazing message of the Gospel and the power of baptism is that Christ has done it all for us. We don’t need to do anything; we have received salvation by the love and grace of our God. So, rejoice in the comfort of your baptism knowing that you have been washed and purified. Your salvation is secure, and you are a dearly loved member of God’s family.

How lovely shines the Morning Star! by Pastor Zarling

How lovely shines the Morning Star!

Revelation 22:16 I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.

The Magi had time to think. Their journey from the east to the little town of Bethlehem likely took them a month or longer. All that time, they had virtually nothing else to think about except this newborn King they were going to see, and what it meant that God had kept his promise to send a Savior into this world.

That’s so often our problem. We don’t have time to think. We fill up our time chasing from one place to another. We fill up our calendar with too much stuff to do. We fill up our minds with endless screens – phone, computer, and TV. We don’t ever allow ourselves to just sit and become bored. To sit and think. To sit and meditate.

What would it be like to sit and spend hours and hours just dwelling on the beauty of God’s grace? A Lutheran pastor from sixteenth century Germany was granted a golden opportunity to do just that. His name was Philipp Nicolai. He was born ten years after Martin Luther died.

During Nicolai’s ministry as a pastor, the Black Death plague swept across Europe. In the worst year of the plague, 1,400 people died in Nicolai’s town. On one day, there were 30 people from his congregation who died and were buried. The cemetery was just outside his parsonage window.

This might not sound like a golden opportunity, but it was. During this time, Nicolai read the Scriptures and prayed. The busier he was, the more he dug into God’s Word. For long periods of time, he contemplated God’s teaching about eternal life through the blood of Jesus Christ. He wrote a book of devotions called “Mirror of Joy,” and he included some hymns in the back of the book. One of them was the hymn, “How Lovely Shines the Morning Star,” for which he wrote both the words and the music.

It’s not hard for us to guess Nicolai’s motives in writing this hymn. If you can’t figure it out from reading the words, then take note of this – each of the seven original verses of this hymn began with a letter from the name of one of Nicolai’s dear Christian friends who had died in the plague.

In the preface of the book he wrote, “To leave behind me (if God should call me from this world) as a token of my peaceful, joyful, Christian departure, or (if God should spare me in health) to comfort other sufferers whom He should also visit with the pestilence.” “How Lovely Shines the Morning Star” is one of the monuments of Lutheran hymns and is called the Queen of Chorales. (A “chorale” is a non-Latin Lutheran hymn written between 1520 and 1750.) Another hymn in the book, “Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying” is today called the King of Chorales. God blessed Philipp Nicolai to be a pretty awesome hymn writer!

In the first stanza of “How Lovely Shines the Morning Star,” Nicolai connects Christ as the Bridegroom to we in the Christian Church as his blessed and beautiful bride: “How lovely shines the Morning Star! The nations see and hail afar. The light in Judah shining. Thou David’s Son of Jacob’s race, My Bridegroom and my King of Grace, For Thee my heart is pining.” This hymn was used so extensively at weddings, that the idea became common that if this hymn was not sung at the wedding, the couple was not properly married.

This hymn is so beloved that stanzas of the hymn were engraved upon bowls and kettles and vases. It was sung at Communion because of the fourth stanza: “A pledge of peace from God I see When Thy pure eyes are turned to me to show me Thy good pleasure. Jesus, Thy Spirit and Thy Word, thy body and Thy blood, afford My soul its dearest treasure.”

The hymn was used at the deathbed of Christians who had kept the pure faith and were prepared to follow the invitation to the wedding feast in the Kingdom of God. The theologian Johann Gerhard died while singing the words of the seventh stanza: “Oh, joy to know that Thou, my Friend, Art Lord, Beginning without end, the First and Last, Eternal! And Thou at length, o glorious grace! Wilt take me to that holy place, The home of joys supernal. Amen, Amen! Come and meet me! Quickly greet me! With deep yearning Lord, I look for Thy returning.”

Nicolai dealt with untold bitterness in his life, and so do we. It’s hard to have to deal with death. We can try to avoid thinking about it, but eventually it catches up to our loved ones. It catches up to us. Before it catches us, we can feel its icy breath down into our soul. Death is grabbing at us – bringing ailments, illnesses, diseases, injuries, and aging. There are school shootings, terrorist attacks, panic and pandemics. St. Paul is correct when he assesses the moral condition of our world: “They all turned away; together they became useless. There is no one who does what is good; there is not even one. … Their feet are quick to shed blood. They leave a trail of destruction and suffering wherever they go” (Romans 3:12,15,16). Sin, death, and destruction is not just out there in our world, it begins right here in our heart. We have each turned from God. So now we have failure and fear, anxiety and anguish, hardships and heartache. Now our souls are restless, and we long for relief, comfort, and rest.

Nicolai begins the hymn, “How lovely shines the Morning Star.” Jesus said of himself at the end of his Revelation to St. John, “I am the bright Morning Star” (Revelation 22:16). When you do have time to think, isn’t it usually in the middle of the night when you shouldn’t be thinking? You should be sleeping. But your mind is racing. You are thinking about your aches, your hurt feelings, your guilt - your physical pain, your emotional pain, your spiritual pain. You feel miserable all over. The night seems to stretch on forever. You just want the darkness to be over. You keep waiting for a new day, a better day to dawn.

If you live far from the city, you look for the rising of the Morning Star – the planet Venus. When Venus rises over the night horizon, hope grows in your heart because the new day is not far behind!

The Magi were following God’s miracle star in the darkness … probably for weeks to travel from the east to Bethlehem. Finally, though, their long night was over. They followed the bright star in the sky so they could see the bright Morning Star in the crib.

Jesus is the Morning Star. He brings the bright hope of his love and forgiveness into our darkness. Whatever harm we have caused others or ourselves, Jesus won forgiveness for upon the cross and out of the grave. He comforts us with his unconditional love and promises to care for us every day and every night.

Jesus is the Morning Star. He brings the bright hope that a new day coming. When struggling through a long night of guilt, or a long week of illness, or a long year filled with heartache, we can look for our bright Morning Star. Jesus promises to be with us to bring us to a new day of his love here and an eternity of new days with him in his home.

With “How Lovely Shines the Morning Star,” Nicolai remembers what God has done for us. He sent us “David’s Son of Jacob’s race,” a Savior who is both “lowly” and “holy,” “true Son of God and Mary’s Son.” Jesus had to be God because we need a Savior without any sin of his own. He had to be human because we need a substitute whose life and death would count in our place. By his death, that Savior has taken away our sin. Now he has risen and rules, “Great and glorious, O victorious Prince of graces, Filling all the heavenly places.”

Jesus is your “Morning Star,” your light in every dark place, your promise of a new day in God’s good grace. He is your “Bridegroom” who loves you more than any groom has ever loved any bride, who has sacrificed his life for you and who now lives to shower you with the blessings of his love. He is your “Vine” who supplies you, his branch, not just with life but with the ability to bear fruit that will last, even when the world around you looks like a desert wilderness. He is your “Eternal Friend,” your “Alpha and Omega,” your “beginning” and your “end.” Your Savior is God’s answer to your anxiety, fear, grief, loneliness, troubles, pain, sin, and death.

Where else can our restless souls find the peace and joy of God’s love and forgiveness? Where else can our restless souls rest secure and safe in God’s love, no matter what is happening in us and around us? Nowhere else. Lord, “Sighing, Crying For the savor Of your favor, Resting never Till I rest in you forever.”

What was it like for Philipp Nicolai to dwell on the grace and goodness of God’s saving love for hours, days, weeks? In the preface to his book of devotions, Nicolai wrote about what it did for him: “I found myself, thank God! wonderfully well, comforted in heart, joyful in spirit, and truly content.” What was it like for the Magi to dwell on the grace and goodness of God throughout their long trip to Bethlehem, following that star in the sky? We’re told, “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with overwhelming joy” (Matthew 2:10).

Is it possible that God might have similar blessings in store for you? He does! There is bitterness everywhere in this world and in our own hearts, too. There is sin everywhere in this world and in our own hearts, and the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Set aside your phone. Clear your calendar. Just sit and think. Sit and contemplate. Sit and meditate. There is nothing more wonderful, more beautiful, more peaceful for our souls than to be able to think and dwell upon the Epiphany of Christ into our world. Even eternity won’t be able to lessen the joy we have in him. He is our heavenly Bridegroom, an endless source of love, and he has given us all eternity to drink it in. “How lovely shines the Morning Star!” Amen.

1. How lovely shines the Morning Star! The nations see and hail afar. The light in Judah shining. Thou David’s Son of Jacob’s race, My Bridegroom and my King of Grace, For Thee my heart is pining. Lowly, Holy, Great and glorious, Thou victorious Prince of graces, Filling all the heavenly places.

2. O highest joy by mortals won, True Son of God and Mary’s Son, Thou high-born King of ages! Thou art my heart’s most beauteous Flower, and Thy blest Gospel’s saving power My raptured soul engages. Thou mine, I Thine; Sing hosanna! Heavenly manna Tasting, eating, Whilst Thy love in songs repeating.

3. Now richly to my waiting heart, O Thou, my God, deign to impart. The grace of love undying. In Thy blest body let me be, E’en as the branch is in the tree, Thy life my life supplying. Sighing, Crying. For the savor of Thy favour; Resting never, Till I rest in Thee forever.

4. A pledge of peace from God I see When Thy pure eyes are turned to me to show me Thy good pleasure. Jesus, Thy Spirit and Thy Word, thy body and Thy blood, afford My soul its dearest treasure. Keep me kindly In Thy favour, o my Saviour! Thou wilt cheer me; Thy Word calls me to draw near Thee.

5. Thou, mighty Father, in Thy Son Didst love me ere Thou hadst begun this ancient world’s foundation. Thy Son hath made a friend of me, And when in spirit Him I see, I joy in tribulation. What bliss is this! He that liveth to me giveth Life forever; Nothing me from Him can sever.

6. Lift up the voice and strike the string. Let all glad sounds of music ring In God’s high praises blended. Christ will be with me all the way, Today, tomorrow, every day, Till traveling days be ended. Sing out, ring out Triumph glorious, o victorious, Chosen nation; Praise the God of your salvation.

7. Oh, joy to know that Thou, my Friend, Art Lord, Beginning without end, the First and Last, Eternal! And Thou at length, o glorious grace! Wilt take me to that holy place, The home of joys supernal. Amen, Amen! Come and meet me! Quickly greet me! With deep yearning Lord, I look for Thy returning.

Adopted by Pastor Zarling

Adopted

Galatians 4:4-7 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son to be born of a woman, so that he would be born under the law, 5in order to redeem those under the law, so that we would be adopted as sons. 6And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts to shout, “Abba, Father!” 7So you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if you are a son, then you are also an heir of God through Christ.

Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited us and prepared redemption for his people (Luke 1:68). Amen.

I took Craig and Krista through adult instruction classes five years ago. During our study, they talked about their desire to be parents. After suffering several miscarriages, Krista was not just upset and frustrated, she was mad at God! By her own admission, she was not in a good place spiritually.

God led Craig and Krista to do foster care for three children. They eventually adopted those three children – Gabriel, Roman, and Amelia. In his own way and in his own time, God gave Craig and Krista their children through adoption. Krista loves to say, “God gave me the children I was meant to have.”

Sadly, there are many couples who struggle for various reasons with having children. God doesn’t provide them a miraculous baby like with Abraham and Sarah or Zechariah and Elizabeth.

I have a friend who was moving into the Racine area several years ago. I was helping him look at neighborhoods for purchasing a house. He finally told me that the neighborhoods I was suggesting were outside of his budget. He said, “I can’t afford these houses. I need to save money because I have to buy my kids.” That was his crude, but realistic way of reminding me that his kids are adopted. It cost that married couple $50,000 to adopt each child.

I’ve learned from Craig and Krista that a couple can provide foster care for children and then adopt those children at no cost. But foster care comes with its own challenges. The children are often coming from broken homes. There can be addictions, abuse, and neglect in their background. This may cause them to be angry, anxious, and untrusting. For all these reasons, and many more, foster children can act up and be difficult.

Knowing all this, a couple may still wish to bring foster children into their home. They will be patient with them, care for them, and grow to love them. The children may even learn to trust and love their foster parents. Everything can be going great, and the parents want to formerly adopt the children … but then the birth parents want the children back. So, the foster parents’ hearts are broken.

The apostle Paul talks about adoption: “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son to be born of a woman, so that he would be born under the law, in order to redeem those under the law, so that we would be adopted as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).

We are like foster kids. We are often angry, anxious, and untrusting. We are often difficult and act up. We are just plain naughty! But who could blame us? Look at where we came from. We are the spiritual children of the devil. He doesn’t love us. He hates us. We are his slaves. He owns us. Because of our sinful nature, we are natural-born slaves to sin and the devil – forced to go along with them because their will was all we knew. And as bad as Satan is for us, what do we do? We keep going back to him. Again and again.

Knowing all this, God still adopts us. When the time was right, he sent his only-begotten Son to rescue you from the devil. He came to reconcile you to God because all your anger, anxiety, and mistrust had separated you from him. Jesus came to take all your naughtiness on him and give you his perfect behavior as your own.

Jesus redeemed us by becoming one of us. Like my friend, God had to buy his children. That sounds crude … but it’s true. God bought us back from belonging to the devil. The price was not gold or silver or anything monetary. The redemption price was the broken body and shed blood of the only-begotten Son of God who took on our human body and blood.

Sometimes when foster children are brought into the family where there are already natural-born children, there can be complicated emotions. Do the natural-born children welcome the new children with open arms? Are they going to be willing to share their room, their toys, their parents’ attention and affection? Little kids don’t think about this, but grown adults will certainly consider this: the natural-born children are going to have to share their family’s inheritance with the adopted children.

Before God made us his children – true members of his family – there was only one Child in God’s holy family. He was the only-begotten Son of the Father from eternity. But Jesus wasn’t jealous about sharing his Dad, his home, or his stuff with us. Jesus willingly did his part to bring us into his family. He left heaven to come to earth. He gave up his throne room for a stable. He was laid in a manger so he could be laid on a cross and then laid in a tomb. He was wrapped in strips of cloth at his birth, so he could be stripped of his clothing at his death, and then be wrapped in strips of cloth at his burial. He did this all out of love to redeem us and make us his brothers and sisters.

When our four daughters were born, Shelley taught them each of them to say, “Daddy” as their first word. That sounds very cute. It is. It’s also very cunning. Then when the girls woke up in the middle of the night, they would cry, “Daddy!” What dad can resist the call of his children?

It excites any parent the first time their child calls them “Mommy” or “Daddy.” That’s for natural-born children. Foster children and adopted children have had their natural parents. Again, they may have trust issues. They may difficulty belonging or believing they have a permanent home somewhere … anywhere. Can you imagine how it must warm the adoptive parents’ heart to hear for the first time their adopted child call them “Mommy” or “Daddy”?

Paul writes, “And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts to shout, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Galatians 4:6). God rescued you from the devil’s clutches. Jesus redeemed you from Satan’s slavery. The Spirit created saving faith in you through your Baptism. That means you get to call the almighty Creator of the universe, “Father,” “Abba” – which means, “Daddy.”

Our Heavenly Daddy has included us – his adopted children – in a wonderful inheritance. Paul explains, “So you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if you are a son, then you are also an heir of God through Christ” (Galatians 4:7). What are you hoping for in your inheritance from your parents? Your inheritance may include property, vehicles, pictures, and family heirlooms. All are special and important. But all those things will eventually be destroyed by moth or rust. They will all be burned up at the Last Day.

Only our Heavenly Daddy’s inheritance lasts. What does this inheritance include? It starts with forgiveness for all our anger, anxiety, distrust, and general naughtiness. This forgiveness was purchased by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also salvation and eternal life.

Three days after Jesus died, he received his glorified body as his inheritance. The disciples saw it happen with Jesus, and they realized that it would also happen to them. Because we are Jesus’ brothers and sisters, we will receive the same inheritance. Our souls will be separated from our bodies at death. Our souls will be reunited with our bodies with the resurrection on the Last Day. Our bodies that are aging and broken will one day be made whole and perfect. We are heirs of eternal life where we will receive glorified, ageless, and powerful bodies.

Our inheritance continues with heaven. That’s where the Son of God lives, and that’s where we will live eternally as the sons and daughters of God. We can look forward to an eternal existence without sorrow or pain, in the company of all those have also been adopted into God’s family. Jesus, our Brother, is preparing our place for us right now. We will receive our Daddy’s mansion to live in among his perfect paradise. We will get to share this paradise with all our saintly brothers and sisters.

When the time was right, God used Caesar Augustus to move the holy family into the right place at the right time. When the time had fully come, God sent his Son born of the Virgin Mary. God the Father sent Jesus to be the perfect Son he always wanted. This Son returned God’s love, was perfect in obedience, and unwavering in devotion. Jesus came to be everything that God wanted from us.

Jesus came to be everything that God wanted from us … by giving everything that he was and earned over to us. Jesus gave us his perfection and righteousness so that when Abba looks at us, he sees little Jesuses. He sees us wearing Jesus’ perfection and righteousness. He sees that our sins have been removed and placed upon his perfect Son.

Now, as the Father’s redeemed sons and daughters, we enjoy all the rights, the privileges, and the relationship of heirs. Just like Jesus.

Now you can walk right into God’s presence through your prayers, empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak whatever is on your heart. You can call the Lord God of heaven and earth “Abba.” In the middle of the night, you can cry, “Daddy!” What Dad can resist the call of his children? You have access to the Father … through the Son … by faith given to you by the Holy Spirit … because you are now God’s adopted sons and daughters.

This morning in our other Scripture readings, we see the miracle births of Isaac into Abraham and Sarah’s ancient family and John into Zechariah and Elizabeth’s aged family. As miraculous as those births are, our inclusion into God’s family is even more miraculous. Those were natural births. Ours is a spiritual birth. Theirs lasted for this life. Ours lasts for life eternal.

We have been purchased. Redeemed. Adopted. We are the children God has chosen to have. Amen.

I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you (Genesis 17:7). Amen.

Lost and Found by Pastor Klusmeyer

Lost and Found

You have that panicky and familiar feeling in the pit of your stomach. You’ve lost something important, and you have no idea where it is. You’re expecting an important call and can’t find your phone for the fourth time today. You’re late for work and you’ve looked in all the normal places but you have no idea where your keys could be. You frantically search everywhere but as the minutes begin to feel like hours you grow increasingly anxious and worried. But then there’s that moment when you find that missing thing and you are filled with joy and relief. Now take those memories of loss, anxiety, and stress and imagine that it’s not a phone, glasses, or set of keys that you’ve lost, but a child.

This is what Mary and Joseph experienced during a memorable trip to Jerusalem many years ago. Mary, Joseph, and their twelve-year-old son Jesus made their yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem according to the Law of Moses to celebrate the Passover. We can only guess at the details of their family celebration. Did the boy Jesus help his father Joseph with the preparations? Did he think about how his own blood would be shed the way the blood of the lamb was shed? We don’t know. What we do know is that after the feast was over Mary and Joseph began their long journey back home.

During this busy Christmas season, many of you went to visit family and friends. You know the hectic flurry of activity as you are preparing to leave: the packing of luggage, the gathering of coats, the questions in the car of, “Are you sure you remembered everything,” and the inevitable groans at the realization that something important had been forgotten. Have all of that in mind as you imagine making a long journey on foot with most of your friends and relatives from your entire town.

In the flurry of activity Mary and Joseph must have assumed that Jesus was walking with some of their other friends or playing with the boys his age. Mary and Joseph were most likely preoccupied with the other adults and exchanging stories about what they had seen in Jerusalem during the feast. But as evening approached, they realized with growing concern that they had not seen their son all day. That concern grows into panic as the different families get ready to camp for the evening. Where was Jesus? Mary and Joseph quickly realized with a sickening feeling of dread that Jesus was not with them. We can picture them hurrying with fear and dread back to Jerusalem.

For three days Mary and Joseph frantically searched. They visited all the places they had been to during the festival. They urgently ask everyone if they have seen their son. Finally, they go to the temple. Imagine their joy and surprise when they see Jesus sitting among the rabbis and teachers of the law asking and answering questions. Mary asks, “Son, why have you treated us this way? See, your father and I have been anxiously looking for you.” Jesus responds to his mother, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be taking care of my Father’s business?”

These are the first words spoken by our Savior that are recorded for us in Scripture. In these words, and this story, we see the mystery of the incarnation. We see Jesus Christ the almighty Son of God who existed in eternity from before the creation of the world living as a twelve-year-old boy with a mother and father who loved him, cared for him, and worried about him. Jesus understood even at this young age the reason he had come to this world. He knew that God had a plan to save his children. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve disobeyed God and brought the curse of sin and death upon the entire human race. God as our loving Father was willing to do anything to save his beloved children. We were lost but God was willing to sacrifice his only begotten Son so that we might be found.

This is why Jesus came to this world. The writer to the Hebrews tells us, “Therefore since the children share flesh and blood, he also shared the same flesh and blood so that through death he could destroy the one who had the power of death (that is, the Devil) and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.” Jesus was tempted in every way that we are, yet he was without sin. We see this on display in this story. Imagine being the almighty Son of God and living under the authority of sinful parents. We know how difficult it is for us at times to obey our parents or others in authority when we know deep down that they are wrong, and we are right. We justify our disobedience against authority that doesn’t meet our standards and look for excuses to rebel.

Our perfect substitute Jesus did not rebel against the sinful authority of his parents. He submitted to their rule and kept the 4th Commandment perfectly in our place. Later in his life he willingly submitted to the corrupt rule of the chief priests, Herod, and Pontius Pilate as he allowed himself to be tried, convicted, and crucified even though he was guilty of no crime. Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience in our place. He kept all the laws and commandments of God and submitted to their requirements even though he was the Lord of the universe. For this reason, he had to become like his brothers in every way, in order that he would be a merciful and faithful high priest in the things pertaining to God, so that he could pay for the sins of the people. Indeed, because he suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

Even from an early age, Jesus knew why he had been sent to this world. He knew that will of his Father. He knew that he had been sent for one purpose: to offer his perfect life as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Think of the boy Jesus sitting in the temple courts at the Feast of Passover. He knew that in a few years, he would be back in Jerusalem to be sacrificed as the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. Even as a young boy, he knew the prophecies of Isaiah. He knew that the chief priests and elders of the people would be the very ones who would beat his back, pull out his beard, and spit in his face.

Jesus was perfectly obedient to the will of the Father as he made his face hard like flint and resolutely set his feet upon the path that would lead to the cross. Jesus Christ is our perfect high priest who offered his perfect life as a sacrifice for sin. On the cross, he became our substitute. He became sin in our place and faced the full wrath of God. On the cross, Jesus was forsaken by the Father and endured the torments of hell so that the lost could be found. By his death, all who had been lost in the darkness of sin were found in the light of his salvation. Jesus is the light of the world. He has found the ones who were walking in darkness and restored them as sons and daughters of our heavenly Father.

As we see the amazing love of our Savior and the perfect obedience he had to his earthly parents and the will of his heavenly Father, we seek to mirror his obedience. We desire to live our lives according to the will of our Father. We live in service and obedience to those God has placed in authority over us. We lovingly submit to the authority of our parents when we are younger, and care for them when we are older. We live peaceful and quiet lives in submission to the governing authorities. We daily seek to grow in our knowledge and understanding of the Lord as we read and study his Word. We grow in wisdom and understanding as we regularly join with others in worship and Bible study. All this we do because we are obedient children of our heavenly father who were lost and have now been saved.

None of us like the feeling of losing something. We hate the frantic searching and the tense moments as we look high and low for what we have lost. We empathize with Mary and Joseph as they combed the streets of Jerusalem looking for their lost son. We can understand the pain that God felt when his sons and daughters were lost to the darkness of sin. We rejoice that our heavenly Father was willing to do anything to rescue us from that darkness and restore us as his children. We rejoice and praise our Savior who was willing to become one of us so that he could be an obedient sacrifice in our place. Praise be to Christ that we who were lost have now been found.

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, That saved a wretch; like me! I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.

The Gift by Pastor Zarling

The Gift

John 1:9-14 9The real light that shines on everyone was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not recognize him. 11He came to what was his own, yet his own people did not accept him. 12But to all who did receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. 13They were born, not of blood, or of the desire of the flesh, or of a husband's will, but born of God.

14The Word became flesh and dwelled among us. We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

It’s Christmas morning. The kids are up before sunrise. They burst into their parents’ bedroom. They jump on mom and dad, telling them it’s time to open presents. Then the kids run downstairs to the Christmas tree. They are excited as they see all the wrapped presents stacked under the tree. They look at the tags to see which ones are theirs. They shake the presents to guess what they’re getting.

Mom has started brewing coffee. Dad has turned on Christmas music. Finally, it’s time to open presents. Then the five-year-old stands up, waves his hand, and says, “No thanks.” He walks away to find something else to do.

That’s not realistic at all, is it? That’s like Ralphie not wanting a Red Rider BB gun for Christmas. Or Kevin not wanting to be with his family at Christmas. Or Buddy not wanting to see Santa at Christmas.

Who doesn’t love opening gifts? Especially at Christmas? Who doesn’t love receiving gifts from loved ones – gifts that are unearned and undeserved?

Yet, that’s exactly the way most people treat the greatest gift ever given. John writes about the gift of Jesus, “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not recognize him. He came to what was his own, yet his own people did not accept him” (John 1:10-11).

It’s true that people in John’s day in the first century and also in our day in the twenty-first century have no interest in the gift of a Savior. That’s why so many oppose Christ, his words, and his morals in society. That’s why Christians are arrested and put in prison for praying outside of abortion clinics. That’s why there are statues glorifying Satan set aside nativity sets glorifying the baby Jesus in government buildings. People are not interested in Jesus. They don’t recognize him as God. They do not accept him as Savior.

Even those who are Christians who know Jesus as God’s greatest gift are sometimes not interested in spending the time with him that he deserves. That’s why churches are empty while basketball courts and soccer fields are full on Sunday mornings. That’s why we spend more time stressing about the decorations and presents of Christmas than spending time with Christ in his Word and in prayer. That’s why we like watching secular Christmas movies and listening to secular Christmas music than filling up our music playlist with “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” and “Joy to the World.” We have so much going on in our lives and we are so busy that we set aside this greatest gift. We’re not always excited to open up this gift. We don’t make time to use this gift.

That’s about as ridiculous as a five-year-old not being excited to open presents on Christmas morning.

Let’s change that. Let’s spend more time with the One who always has time for us. Let’s receive and appreciate this gift. Let’s spend time with Jesus and his Word.

Why? John tells us why. “But to all who did receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. They were born, not of blood, or of the desire of the flesh, or of a husband's will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13). We receive him who came down to earth to receive us. We were born belonging to the devil. Through faith in Jesus as our newborn Savior, we are reborn and made children of God. This isn’t a birthright that’s ours because of our parents’ DNA or last name. This is a gift that God gives us simply because he desires it.

What is this gift? John tells us, “The Word became flesh and dwelled among us. We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

What has all our busyness gotten us? Has it lessened our stress? Improved our health? Strengthened our marriage and family life? Nope. Our busyness usually adds to our stress, hurts our health, and causes rifts in our marriage and family.

That’s why God sent his Son in the flesh to dwell among us. We can’t fix our problems on our own. We just make things worse. So, “the Word became flesh.” God’s Son didn’t wait for humanity to clean up our messes. He just came. He became one of us. He took on our flesh and blood in the womb of a woman. He was born to die. He was laid in a manger so he could be laid on the cross. He was wrapped in strips of cloth so he could clothe us with his righteousness. He took all our sins upon himself so he could give us his perfection. He came to fix our human problems by providing divine solutions. He came so we could set aside our busyness and be about his kingdom business.

What does this good news about this great gift do to us? Hopefully, you’ll be as excited to receive Jesus as Mr. Parker was excited to receive his leg lamp award. Hopefully, you’ll be as protective of your time with Jesus as Kevin as protective of his house against the Wet Bandits. Hopefully you’ll be as anxious to meet Jesus every Sunday as Buddy was anxious to meet his dad.

Let’s be as excited to open this gift of Jesus as a real five-year-old is excited to open his Christmas presents. Because this gift of Jesus is the Son of God becoming man so that the sons and daughters of men could become children of God. This gift of Jesus came to make his dwelling among us so that we might go to have our dwelling made with God. What a gift! Amen.

The Word became flesh and dwelled among us. We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). Amen.