Meditation based on Matthew 28:19

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Pastor Jeremy Husby delivers a meditation based on Matthew 28:19 at Peace Lutheran Church in Hartford, Wisconsin.

Delivered: Graduation Service, Thursday, May 24, 2018

Excluding words like and or the or even of, each word in this passage that you chose as your class verse could be the subject of hours of meditation all alone, but tonight, let’s take just a few minutes to focus in on the very first word of this passage—a word that often gets overlooked, but really sets the stage for what Jesus commanded his disciples, and you and me, to do on that day almost 2000 years ago.  Let’s ask the Lutheran question, “What does this mean?” about the word Therefore.

The disciples of Jesus, that close-knit group that had been following him since the beginning of his ministry, were now only 11 in number.  For 3 years, they had truly been his disciples—that is, they were his students and followers.  They had been taught by their rabbi, Jesus, in a variety of ways.

At times, Jesus taught them with his words.  The Sermon on the Mount, the parables, and his extended discourses systematically went through a variety of doctrinal truths—from Jesus’ dual natures, being both God and man at the same time, to the Kingdom of faith that Jesus rules in the hearts of his people, and all the way to some simple stuff like being a good neighbor, not only to those you love, but even those who might be your enemies.

Other times, though, Jesus taught with some dramatic object lessons called miracles.  He provided for his people, using his divine power to signal his authority and making the blind to see again, the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, and the diseased cured.  Through those wonderful, extraordinary acts, Jesus drew attention to himself, so that more and more would not only listen to his message, but believe and trust it to be true.

And then, of course, there were those times when Jesus would teach without words or wonders, but with his love.  He led and taught by example.  He met with tax collectors and sinners in their homes.  To teach the importance of prayer, he prayed in front of them, modeled a perfect prayer that is still in use today, and even set aside times where he could meditate and participate in private prayer.

Those three years of schooling by rabbi Jesus have been seen by some as the very first Christian seminary training program.  They received their instruction and now, after Jesus’ Thursday night graduation service at his Ascension, it was time for them to go to work.  They had been taught, they had been equipped, they knew the authority Jesus had over all things and that he had shared his authority with them through his Word and then, therefore, because all that was true, it was time for them to go out into the world and be his representatives and to make more disciples—more followers and students of Jesus.

Over the years of your education at Peace Lutheran School, you, too, have been disciples—followers and students of the faculty here.  They, too, have taught you in a number of different ways.  They have lectured, used illustrations and metaphors, crafted experiments and case studies, and even, at times, simply modeled proper words, behaviors, and actions.

Through those educational techniques, you have learned to read, to write, and to compute complex mathematics.  Your standardized tests show that you have been trained and equipped to score higher than the average students in your grade in your city, your state, and across the United States.  And, more than simply scoring well on a test, you have been prepared with skills that will help you succeed as you continue in higher education and in whatever careers you might choose for yourselves.

But your teachers, and this congregation that 50 years ago started, and continues to support, Peace Lutheran School, aren’t simply concerned with you succeeding in this life.  Their hopes, their prayers, and their combined efforts far exceed 70 or 80 years on this earth.  They have trained you for eternity by setting you at the feet of the perfect professor, on a daily basis, to hear him and, with the eyes of faith, to see him, to learn the same truths that the disciples learned.

Unfortunately, that is something that you had to be taught.  Like solving for x, who Jesus is and why he came to this earth would be completely unknown to you without instruction.  As you studied in your catechism classes, this world around you and your own conscience can surely teach you a lot about who you are and what punishments should deservedly be yours because of that.

But, thankfully, listening to and meditating on the message of that perfect professor, you learned about his great exchange for you.  Jesus saw your struggle against sin and Satan’s temptations and lived his life as a perfect substitute for yours.  He satisfied the demands of the Law on your behalf so that, when God calls you to account for your life, he will only see Jesus and the robe of his righteousness which covers you completely.

And, to not only cover the requirements of the Law, but to account for God’s justice, Jesus took the punishment of God’s wrath that was rightfully yours onto himself when he went to Calvary’s cross.  He endured it himself, like a lightning rod, so that there would be none left to seek you out and find you.

Through that exchange, Jesus, your substitute, won forgiveness for you and for all. And, through faith in that promise, you have been made a disciple of Jesus for now and for all of eternity.

And so, disciple of Jesus, here you are on a Thursday night graduation service, listening to the Word of Jesus.  You have been taught, you have been equipped, you have learned the authority of Jesus and, through his Word, that authority has been shared with you.  Therefore go.  Go and continue to be life-long learners of math and science and reading and writing and, because of your training, lead successful lives in whatever careers you choose.

But, also, do what the disciples of Jesus 2000 years ago and his disciples today have done.  Make more disciples.  Teach others by setting them at the feet of the perfect professor.  Use his words and make them see, with the eyes of faith, his signs, wonders, and actions accomplished in love.  Because you know the forgiveness he gives to you, therefore, teach it and give it to all those you encounter after this graduation service.  Amen.

 

 

 

https://vimeo.com/271104254

With Man, Salvation is Impossible, but Not With God

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Seminarian Martin Loescher delivers a sermon entitled “With Man, Salvation is Impossible, but Not With God” based on Mark 10:17-27 at Peace Lutheran Church in Hartford, Wisconsin.

Delivered: Sunday, May 20, 2018

Our first lesson today was a call to repentance, spoken by the prophet Amos, to the nation of Israel, which applies very well to us. At this time in Israel, things were pretty similar to 21st century America. Money was plentiful, but honesty and generosity were scarce. The love of money was everywhere, but the love of God was hardly anywhere to be found. And so the prophet Amos pleaded with his countrymen, “Turn away from this cult of money, and worship God, “Seek the LORD, and live!”

Our second lesson today urges us to do the same, “Keep your lives free from the love of money, and trust in God instead!” “Stop loving your money, and start loving each other like family!”

And in our Gospel lesson, Jesus asked the rich young man to give up all of his money for the poor. It kind of seems like God asks a lot from us, doesn’t it? God wants us to put him and our neighbor before all these other things that we earned by the sweat of our brow? What if we refuse? What if we can’t put God before everything, even though Jesus clearly says in the Gospel, “Do this, and you will have treasure in heaven”?

After reading all these Bible passages, having treasure in heaven, being saved that is, begins to seem like a very tall task, maybe even impossible for us. But as we hear more about Jesus and his encounter with the rich young man, let’s listen very closely to hear what Jesus has to say about being saved: this is impossible with man, but nothing is impossible with God.

Now this rich young man had stopped Jesus along the road, in order to ask him his burning question about salvation. “Good teacher, what must I do, to inherit eternal life?” But Jesus fired a question right back at him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.”

Of course Jesus was good, he was in fact, God; but what Jesus was doing was dropping the man a hint: “You are mistaken right from the start to think that anyone but God is good.” But Jesus moved on and humored him a little. “Ok, what must you do to inherit eternal life? You know the commandments. You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not cheat/swindle anyone, and you shall honor your father and mother.” But the young man, who considered himself to be something of a moral expert, felt disappointed by such a no-brainer answer. “Is that it?” the man said. “You’re telling me the commandments are all I need to do? I’ve kept all those since I was little boy!”

But Jesus knew that couldn’t be true, and so he looked at the man. And out of love and concern for him, because Jesus really did want the young man to inherit eternal life, he exposed his flaw. “One thing you lack. Go sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.”

Now hold on just a minute. When Jesus told the man to give everything away, was he adding another commandment? Do we now have to give everything away if we want to get into heaven? Not exactly. By telling the man to give away everything, Jesus was teaching him something very troublesome about the 10 commandments. Jesus was pointing out to him, “Friend, you think you’ve nailed down all the commandments? You think you can check every one of those off your list?

Obeying the 10 commandments isn’t just about filling out checkboxes; obeying the 10 commandments is about loving God over everything you have, and loving your neighbor as yourself.” And when Jesus told the young man to let everything go–he got Jesus’ point. He didn’t love God more than his possessions, he didn’t love the poor as much as he loved himself, and he knew it. And so he hung his head and walked away, because he realized how much he cherished his wealth, and it was so close to his heart that he couldn’t let anybody have it, not even God.

When the man had gone away, Jesus turned to his disciples and lamented, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” Now we modern Christians get it, we know what Jesus means, right? It’s tempting for rich people to love their money more than God. They can be led astray to the point where it is hard for them to get into heaven. But surprisingly, the disciples didn’t get it! The disciples were amazed at Jesus’ words, Jesus had baffled them. And he went on, “How hard it is to enter the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get to heaven.”

Now the disciples were more baffled than ever, in fact they were worried. You see, the Jewish people viewed riches in a slightly different way than we do. They viewed riches as a sure sign of God’s favor! To them, riches were God’s special way of rewarding the wisest, most upstanding citizens. Do you see now, why the disciples were worried? “If the rich, that is the wisest and most upright Jews can’t get into heaven,” they think, “what’s going to happen to us? If it’s going to be impossibly difficult to be saved for people like that sterling young man whom Jesus just shot down, who on earth can be saved?”

What about us now, can we be saved? Most of us are pretty model citizens, and we do a pretty good job of keeping the commandments day after day. Most of us can go right down the list of commandments and check them off one right after the other. “Keep the commandments? Ok, well let’s see, Jesus, the 1st one (You shall have no other gods) I don’t even have to think about that one. The second one, (You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God) I’ve kept that one all my life. And the 3rd commandment (Honor the Sabbath day by keeping it holy) well I’m here aren’t I? You’ve got to hand it to me, Jesus,” we think, “I’ve been pretty faithful with these commandments.”

The problem is, actually being faithful with the commandments is much more complicated than it seems. Even if we seem to have checked them all off, Jesus says that there is still something we lack. Remember what the 10 commandments is all about? It’s about loving the Lord your God with all your heart, and loving your neighbor just as much as you love yourself. This we know we can’t do. Just like the rich young man, there are things we refuse to give up for God, and for each other.

Most of us have a pretty good reputation, and we don’t like to risk losing it! When a brother or sister needs to be confronted about sin, or when an unbeliever needs us to tell them about Jesus, we may wish the best for them, but what happens when we have to choose between talking about God, and holding on to our good name? We need our good name, God can’t ask us to give it away. Then of course there’s our money, which we hold pretty tight, too. What if God asked us to let it go? What if he didn’t even ask, what if God just took it? If God took away our money, that wouldn’t seem fair at all; God can have our Sundays, he can have our attention for a few hours each week, he can even have a few dollars from our wallets, but all of it? That money is how we take care of ourselves, and our family, our way of life depends on it—no way, we think, God wouldn’t take our money if he was good; not if he loved us.

Finally, there’s something else too that we feel we simply cannot give up—our sin. All of us have at least one sin, one sin that we’ve fallen into so many times, it’s like it’s become a part of us. And when God confronts us about the sin, and commands us to give it up, we dare to think, “God I don’t even think that’s possible. I wish it were possible for me to give up this sin but I can’t. This is who I am, and I hope you’re ok with that.” How dare we refuse the almighty God. How dare we hang our heads and walk sadly away from Jesus when he asks us to let go. How dare we love ourselves more than our neighbor, and how dare we love things more than the one who created them, and yet we still think, “hey I kind of deserve to be saved.” Instead we should be thinking right along with the disciples, “Who then can be saved, Jesus? No one can surrender everything to God, we can’t do that. Jesus, this is impossible.”

But listen closely to Jesus words, as he answers us in today’s Gospel. He says to us, “You know what, you’re right, salvation is impossible for you. But think no more about what you have to offer, about your ability to be saved; think about the power of God. Who then can be saved, you ask?”

With God’s power, anyone can be saved. Do you remember how exactly Jesus put it according to the Gospel? “With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible!” Just because salvation seems impossible for us, doesn’t mean it’s impossible for God. Quite the opposite! Take the rich man in the gospel, who went away sad; it hardly seems possible to us that he could be saved, but God could save him. God could put that rich young camel through the eye of a needle. He can take us too, in all of our hairy, bulky, humpy sinful bodies, and squeeze us through the eye of the smallest needle, because nothing is impossible with God!

We may doubt ourselves, we may doubt we have enough faith, enough love, enough goodness to be able to put God first in our lives, but God told us in our second lesson, Hebrews, that we can trust him. God told us, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” As much as we have forsaken God and flung ourselves away from him in pursuit of riches and pleasure, God can always save us, he can always get us into heaven.

But how is that possible? If God is a just God, who punishes sinners, how is it possible for him to allow us into heaven? Well when Jesus told his disciples, “anything is possible with God,” he had the answer very much on his mind, he knew every gory detail of how exactly, God was going to get us into heaven. You see, when he said “all things are possible with God,” he was on his way to Jerusalem for the last time. He could say that all things are possible, that sinners can get into heaven, because he knew that, come one Friday, he was going to be the one to make them clean.

He could say, “It is possible for you, my friends, to avoid God’s judgment,” because he knew that God would judge him instead. He could say, “Anyone can be saved,” because he knew that he would save every person who ever lived. And Jesus can now say to you and to me, “Yes, it is possible for you to be saved too.  Because no matter how much difficulty you have in loving me, and giving up everything, I have given up everything for you on the cross. And no matter how much guilt you carry, no matter how many sins you have piled up in your efforts to get ahead, my death on the cross has taken it all away. My death on the cross has taken away the sins of the whole world; of course that includes you!”

And if Jesus words ever begin to sound impossible—and they may—if we ever become scared that maybe Jesus death 2000 years didn’t take away our sins, Jesus our brother can be found right here, quieting our fears with the mighty words of Scripture: Nothing is impossible, with God.

And the beautiful thing is, those words don’t just apply to salvation, they apply to our everyday lives. Do we really think we’re so timid that we can’t bring ourselves to risk our reputation for Christ? Do we really think we need our money so much that we could never let it go if God asked us? And do we really believe our sin has attached itself to us so tightly that we are powerless to give it up? We were baptized! God promised us forgiveness through Jesus and we have received it through faith, don’t we know what that means? It means that God the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in our very being, and we are filled with his awesome power. Just as it was not an impossible task to save us, so it is not an impossible task for us to obey God’s commands. For he has not only commanded us to love him and one another, but he has empowered us to go and do so freely. Amen.

 

 

 

https://vimeo.com/269646435

There is No One Like This God!

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Pastor Paul Waldschmidt delivers a sermon entitled “There is No One Like This God!” based on Deuteronomy 33:26 at Peace Lutheran Church in Hartford, Wisconsin.

Delivered: Ascension Sunday, May 13, 2018

Although he is a two time winner of the Mr. Universe competition, John Brown knows what it was like to be ignored, forgotten and overlooked. That’s what happens when you have the 2nd most common first name and the 5th most common last name in America over the course of the last 100 years. He was determined that his firstborn son would not be subject to the same utterly forgettable moniker, so John Brown went to (what some might consider to be) the opposite extreme. He wanted his son to never be overlooked, to always be remembered and so he named him Equanimeous Tristan Imhotep J. St. Brown. If that name rings a bell—and well, why wouldn’t it?—it’s probably because Equanimeous Tristan Imhotep J. St. Brown was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 6th round of last month’s NFL college football draft.  So it’s possible that you might hear that name a lot more in the years ahead, along with his younger brothers, who are equally as talented on the gridiron: Osiris Adrian Amen-Ra J. St. Brown and Amon-Ra Julian Heru J. St. Brown.

John Brown knew it. Unusual names grab people’s attention. When you hear them, read them, or are introduced to someone who has one of them, they tend to stick. We have one of those unusual names in the Word of God before us tonight. It makes us stop, pay closer attention, and it might just stick with you long after you leave this place. As we study, we’ll see that this unique name opens the door to a discussion of our unique, one kind Savior. Truly There is No One Like Our God!

Moses says in Deuteronomy 33, “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty.”  He’s not called the God of Israel. Not the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But the God of Jeshurun. A name so unique that it only appears 4 times in the whole Bible, three of them right here in this section of Deuteronomy.

Most Bible scholars think that Jeshurun is a diminutive name for Israel. You know what a diminutive name is? It’s a term of endearment. It’s like on Gilligan’s Island when the Skipper calls Gilligan “little buddy.” It’s when I shake hands with a little one after church and I say, “Good morning, chief” or “Good morning, princess.” A diminutive could also be a nickname, like Margaret getting shortened to Maggie, Joseph to Joe or Equanimeous Tristan Imhotep J. St. Brown perhaps being called EQ by his close friends. It’s the name that people call you when they know you less formally, and more intimately.

So now take all of that and consider that Moses talks about God and the Israelites with a diminutive name. There is no one the God of Jeshurun. Their great Jehovah had brought this people too far, they’d been through too much together to be relegated only to formal addresses and high falutin’ verbiage. Oh, don’t misunderstand. They were not comrades, nor were they equals. He was still the Creator and they, the Created. He was still perfect and they were still cabbageheads, creeps and clodhoppers. But they were His cabbageheads, creeps and clodhoppers. (Yes, I had to get out the thesaurus for that one!)

It might make you think how nice it would be for God to have a nickname for you, for you to be so dear to his heart, have that close of a relationship with the Almighty. No, we don’t have what Israel had. We aren’t his little Jeshurun for a limited time and in a specific context. We have something even better and closer.  We aren’t a physical nation that belongs to him. We are his family.

Remember what Jesus called his disciples after he rose from the dead? He said “Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (John 20:17)  At Mount Sinai, Israel became God’s Jeshurun. But at Mount Calvary, you and I become something so much more, not to mention so much more than we deserve. And it was all because Jesus willingly became so much less than he deserved. Paul writes to the Corinthians, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus was treated like a sinner, vile and disgusting in the eyes of the perfect God so that sinners can be treated like family, approved, welcomed and unconditionally loved in the arms of the perfect God.

It’s just like Moses said. There is no God like this God! I read something that crystallized that perfectly this week. I cannot attribute it to its proper writer because I absolutely cannot remember where I read it. But it was something to this effect. Every religion in the world is like swimming lesson at the lake. Buddha, Muhammad and all the rest will gladly shout instructions to you from the boat. But only one, only one will jump in the water when you start to go under, only one will plunge to the deepest depths for you. Not only does Jesus have the heart to jump in. He has the power to save you.

See that’s the beauty of the Ascension that Moses unwittingly brings out for us-1500 years before Jesus and his disciples stood on the hilltop in Galilee! There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. The same God who is the God of a soft heart and diminutive names is the God of powerful arms, who rides on the clouds in his majesty. He doesn’t just ride on the heavens, he rides on the heavens to help you!

That is why we’re here. We need help. Because every day is a struggle. We were just talking in Wednesday morning Bible study about the Greek word ἀγω̂να. It gives us our English word “agony.” It literally means conflict or struggle, especially in the context of an athletic competition. Paul uses it in his letter to the Philippians to talk about our Christian struggle. (1:30) I asked the class what kind of things do we struggle against as Christians? Where do we have a little ἀγω̂να? They didn’t have any trouble coming up with answers: We struggle with being content with our callings and carrying them out each day without wanting to be someone else somewhere else. We struggle with temptations that lure us before we sin and then we struggle with consciences that bother us after we sin. We struggle with doing the things we shouldn’t do. We struggle with not doing the things we should do. We struggle with serving selflessly when we know our service won’t be acknowledged our appreciated. We struggle with not always knowing the God-pleasing thing to say or do in a given situation. We struggle with holding on to our values and principles in the face of work demands, family demands or the demands of a world that thinks they’re outdated and even hateful. Is there a single moment of the day when we do not struggle?  Sadly no. The struggle is always going to be there. Good thing Jesus says he’s going to be there, too. “Surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.”

The one who was once visibly present among men, now is eternally present among us in Word and Sacraments. The one who stood on the neck of the devil now sits at the control panel of the Universe (while still standing on the neck of the devil!)  There may be times when he eases our struggle. May be times when he takes a particular struggle away all together. But most often, he picks us up and carries us through the struggle. See his tender heart today. Trust his powerful arm today. Rejoice in an ascended Savior today. Who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. There is no one like your God! Amen.

 

 

 

https://vimeo.com/26268407440

God Gives Us Salvation – Jesus Is the Only Way

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Pastor Aaron Steinbrenner delivers a sermon entitled “God Gives Us Salvation” based on  Acts 4:12 at Peace Lutheran Church in Hartford, Wisconsin.

Delivered: Confirmation Sunday, May 6, 2018

In 1999 LeDainian Tomlinson, college running back for TCU, broke a record for number of yards in one single football game.  He rushed the ball for 406 yards.  He was THE guy…THE ONLY guy who had ever done that.  For 15 years that record stood, until our own Wisconsin Badger, Melvin Gordon, ran the ball for 408 yards in one game.  And then Melvin Gordon became the ONLY ONE in Division I college football to have that many yards in one single game.  Until a week later, when that record was broken by some guy from Oklahoma.  The point is, someone may rise to the top and be THE guy, the ONLY ONE but just wait… eventually someone else will come along and take their place.

Not so with Jesus.  He is the ONLY ONE who brings salvation.  He’s the ONLY ONE who can bring you and me to heaven.  No one else is ever going to come along and do what Jesus has so completely and perfectly done.  The Apostle Peter agrees, when he says: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”  This weekend we have 29 confirmands who also agree.  Jesus is the Only Way to Salvation….there is no other.

That’s not a very popular message today.  We live in what some call a pluralistic society.  That’s where we have many different people who have many different backgrounds and cultures…AND…many different beliefs.  In fact, in a pluralistic society, people are encouraged to be tolerant.  Believe what you want.  Just don’t force your beliefs on other people…and be willing to admit that their beliefs are just as valid and true as yours are.

Do you know that our surroundings today are not that different than what Peter and John had to deal with?  Let me provide some background.  Jesus had ascended into heaven.  He told his disciples, go to Jerusalem and wait there – I’ll send the Holy Spirit to you.  That had happened.  The disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit.  As a result, they told people about Jesus.  They taught and preached.  And that got them into trouble.  The local authorities didn’t like them preaching and teaching that Jesus was the ONLY WAY TO SALVATION.  They arrested Peter and John and told them to stop it!  And that’s when Peter replies:  “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

1st Century Jerusalem, 21st Century America – not much has changed.  People still don’t like the idea of Jesus being the only way.  And if you suggest as much, you might be called an arrogant jerk or a narrow-minded jerk or any number of colorful words for jerk.  Consider this:  Just three weeks ago a young Italian boy named Emanuele approached a world-renowned Christian leader and asked him whether or not his atheist dad would be in heaven.  And with a hug and smile, that church leader assured little Emanuele that his father who had shunned and rejected and denied Jesus his whole life, is now comfortably at Jesus’ side in heaven.

In other words, “It doesn’t really matter what you believe or who you believe in.  We all end up in the same place at the end.”  Today we denounce that pluralistic viewpoint.  Today we echo the words of Peter:  JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO SALVATION.  By God’s grace we make that confession…29 teenagers make that confession.

And today, we admit how badly we need Jesus.  You see, we believe what the Bible teaches about Jesus…but we also believe what the Bible teaches about us.  One of the passages the confirmands learned well, and we know too, comes from Psalm 51:5 – Surely I was sinful from birth; sinful from the time my mother conceived me.  We are conceived and born into this world with a great need for saving.  We can ignore it…make light of it…or flat out deny it…but the truth is, when I was born into this world, no one had to teach me how to be greedy or how to think about myself first.  I didn’t need lessons on how to lie or talk back to my parents or hold resentment in my heart or pout when I didn’t get my way.  I didn’t need a step-by-step youtube video to show me how to become a pathetic sinful human being who was deserving of God’s punishment.  I could do that all by myself.  What I couldn’t do was change my status.

There’s ONLY ONE who could.  There’s ONLY ONE…

  • Who would take my filthy garments of sin and wear them as he suffered and died on the cross…meanwhile taking his clean and perfect garments of obedience and holiness and draping them on me at my baptism.
  • Who would change…has changed…my status from pathetic sinner to forgiven sinner…from lost orphan to found child of God…from hell-bent to heaven-bound.
  • ONLY ONE – that’s Jesus.

Salvation is found in no one else!  Prior to saying that, Peter had said, of Jesus, that he was “the stone the builders rejected, which has become the capstone.”  In other words, yes it’s true, many have rejected this precious stone…many people have tossed Jesus aside and decided to build their lives and their eternal hopes on someone or something else – to their peril…but just because many have rejected him…just because we may live in a pluralistic society…that doesn’t change the fact that Jesus is indeed the capstone.  Which means, he is the most important part.  Everything must be built off of him.

  • Our purpose in life is defined ONLY by him.
  • Forgiveness for the many times we have failed comes ONLY from him.
  • A relationship with the true God comes ONLY through him.
  • A victory over death and sin is ONLY because of him.

Let me illustrate.  This past December I had a funeral.  A life-long Christian and now at the age of 88, his body was wearing down and eventually, he fell asleep.  There was some sadness, because Dad would be missed; but mostly the son rejoiced because Dad was now with Jesus.  A month later I had another funeral.  A life-long Christian, but he was a few months shy of his 25th birthday.  About a decade ago he wore a white robe and sat right there as a member of the 2007 confirmation class.  I’m sure at the time of his confirmation, he hadn’t planned on a heart attack at age 24.  But at the time of his confirmation he did plan to place his trust in Jesus…because he knew that ONLY JESUS was the way to salvation.

I stood in the hospital room as that young man was drifting off to sleep.  I saw family members come in and out of the room, saying their goodbyes.  It was heart-wrenching.  There was definitely sadness; because he would be missed.

  • But even through the tears, his mom saw heaven waiting for her son.
  • Even amidst the pain of sadness, his mom knew her son’s sins had been forgiveness by Jesus.
  • Even when she was blanketed in hurt, she knew her son was blanketed baptismal grace.
  • Even in her emptiness, she knew her son would enjoy the fulness of heaven.

Why?  Because of Jesus.  For her and her son, Jesus was not the throw-away stone.

Jesus is the ONLY ONE and the MOST IMPORTANT ONE not just on the day we wear the white robes and make our confirmation vows and not just on the day we close our eyes and fall into the sleep of death – but every day in between

-since forgiveness and victory over death and a relationship with God comes ONLY through him

-we will make it our purpose and goal to live for him.

 

Amen.