In the Name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Grace
and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord
and Savior sanctify you in the truth, for His word is truth. Amen
The
Second Sunday in Lent (2011)
One
Sermon to Preach
John 3:16 (ESV)
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that
whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
The most obvious
question that could be asked by the people of this community who see us arrive
on Sunday mornings to attend worship is: “Who are they? What is the purpose of
their worship that is different from all the other churches? What will be the
message proclaimed from their pulpit?”
For the moment let
us view these questions in the light of the theme articulated some years ago:
“If I had One Sermon to preach?” What would I, or you, as a herald of the
living Christ, say if we had the opportunity to preach just one sermon? What
would be our message if we had but one moment in that span of time between the
eternities of God to speak? What would be our message if we were sent to the
distant
These are the
moments of grace which are very similar to the here and now, as we plant the
Cross deeply at
“For God so
loved.”
We pray that our message will ever be one that lifts the eyes of sinners to see
the Almighty, Holy, Eternal, and Abiding God, who was before the foundation of
the world was laid and who will be after the creations of men are crumbled to
dust. We pray that people whose eyes are blinded by sin and burning with tears
of remorse and sorrow, shall see God, not as a vague, indefinite god, but as
the all-powerful, all-wise, mercifully, loving God who cares for His creatures
whom He fashioned in His own image. We pray that from these hallowed walls
sinners shall learn of a God who is all-knowing and aware of their needs. We
pray that all who enter shall come to worship a God who not only holds all of
His creation in the palm of His hand, but also to worship a God who is
intimately concerned with the individual—with YOU—opening theirs and your heart
to the Divine Persons of the undivided Trinity; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We pray that all who worship will receive the gift of faith to believe in God’s
only-begotten Son as their Divine Redeemer, as the Savior of all mankind. We
pray that the Holy Spirit will come upon them and you with power to open the
eyes of their and your heart to know our Lord Jesus, to be drawn to Him, and to
believe in His atoning sacrifice unto life everlasting. It is our utmost desire
that all who come to this altar to worship the true and Triune God will go
forth from here knowing that God is present everywhere; that no one escapes His
ever-watchful eye; that His desire to save the lost led Him to send forth His
only-begotten Son to seek and save them from the ravages of sin, death, and the
devil; and that His abiding presence is with them each moment of everyday, in
every action, thought, and deed, for every one of His creatures is precious in
His omnipotent sight.
“God so loved
the world.”
How often and how commonplace, we speak of God’s love for men! The frequency of
the use of the word “love” causes us to rob it of its meaning. Thus we need to
understand the word “love” correctly. This love of God is not just affection,
interest, sentiment, or acquaintanceship, as men want to read into the word
“love” those varying degrees of human relationship. We will understand, and men
will know more fully, the words “the love of God” if we translate this in our
worship and witness to identify one Creator, who gave us life; who provides for
all our needs; who guards and protects us to the degree that, in His providence
He assigns His holy angels to watch over us; and whose love for us burned with
such fervency that He robbed Himself of His Dearest and Best, His only-begotten
Son, to send Him forth, fashioned in the likeness of men, to die in our place,
so that we might live here in time as His very own, and hereafter in eternity.
If we had but One Sermon to Preach, we shall present
to sinners our God, who is our Father, by the atoning work of His Son, our
Redeemer. He is the one Being who ever, always, and with no antipathy because
of our faults and failings, holds us close to His heart, and who with the
warmth and power of His divine love desires and seeks to keep us there.
Sinners, in our message heard but once, shall hear and know that what God has
done and still does in His love for us is not because of our merit or our worthiness,
but only because of His love for us, which is continually drawing us back; so
fervent that it consumed His Son as the final sacrifice for sin on Calvary’s
mount.
God gave in love—this is our message. Our
emphasis upon the word “gave,” we
trust, will cause men to look upon their empty hands and suddenly see them
filled with the treasures of God’s grace. Complete and unrestrained is God’s
grace; so complete that it compels God in the person of Father, despite our
unworthiness, stupidity, stubbornness, and sinfulness, to say, “Go forth, my
Son”; and in like measure, the Son, in obedience, despising the shame, knowing
full well the agony and torture involved, says, “I will willingly go and suffer
all manner of pain to save the lost.”
Here we shall
endeavor to speak and teach so that all men shall know that it is not our
worship; our sacrifices (if there are any worthy of note); not our toil in the
Kingdom (we really toil so little); not our exemplary living (and who would
boast of that?); none of these establish any merit or worthiness on our part in
the sight of our gracious Father. We do indeed desire that men shall know all
that has been accomplished for us in God’s Gift is solely by His grace. His
concerned, magnificent love, established our kinship with Him. All was done for
us long before we came to faith and service. Thus, again and again, grasping
each precious opportunity, we shall bring sinners back to the cradle and the
cross. There, they, like us, in awe will say, “Was there ever a love like
this?”
Somehow, with
the feeble and faulty communication that is human-articulation, we want to lift
men’s eyes up and beyond the glamour, the shadows, the sorrows, the allurements
and concerns of daily living, to be centered on the Son of God, His
only-begotten Son. Perhaps men will forget for a moment the riches of treasure,
for in reality they are all His. They will know that their strength and
security are not derived by the talent’s of man, for they are divinely
bestowed; neither is man’s perceived power or dominion, for these are inherited
or earned by God’s sufferance; nor is prestige something we can claim as
ourselves, for superficial prestige is conferred by man as a tribute and divine
prestige is only, always, and eternally bestowed through God’s own Son.
It shall,
therefore, be our aim, as we lift our voices in witness here, to direct sinners
to the knowledge that shall become their confident faith, that it is Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, who bridges the gap between us and our holy, righteous
God; it is by His crucifixion, and it alone, whereby we are reconciled in the
fellowship of peace and hope.
We speak to all
the sons of men for all time: the rich; the poor; the powerful; the weak; the
lettered and the unlearned; the young and the old; the down-trodden and the
ruling; the weary and the courageous—to all mankind we extend our witness of
the love of God to all for whom Christ died.
This is indeed
difficult for many of us to grasp, and some are loath to believe it. Is it
because our land and our people have become class-conscious? If so, then we
must dispel the idea that the Son of God, while dying on the Cross of Calvary
as the stream of humanity passes by in parade, could say to Himself, “For this
one I die: He is of the right social background; his economic status is
correct; the color of his skin, his academic background, his ethnic ancestry
all fit the specification I ordered while yet in heaven.” Instead, we must show
our Lord for who He really is; the Son of God who died on the Cross to save all
mankind regardless of economic status, skin color, academic background, or
ethnic ancestry. If we have any purpose in this place, it is to lift our voices
in all our evangelical bidding and cry out that which Philip said to Nathaniel:
“Come
and see!” (John 1:46).
It is as simple
as that one word. No other intermediary is necessary, no fumbling of beads or
intercession by men; only the simple, childlike faith of knowledge and trust. No
works are necessary, but only the outstretched empty hands of a spirit starved
heart and life, to receive the treasures of God’s love in the blood streaming
from the holy wounds of the Crucified Christ.
Here men shall
have what most men want and what all men need—comfort for the present trials;
strength for the bearing of the burdens of the day; balm for tear-filled eyes
and fear-torn hearts and doubting tortured minds; peace for this time—but even
more; for in this Christ whom we shall give away, all may have hope for the
future. There is so much dimness and darkness, so much fear of tomorrow, that
many do say, “Give me a hand that I may tread into tomorrow.” This wish is
granted. Not only for the days ahead, but, with their hands in the
nail-imprinted hand of our divine Redeemer and reigning Lord, men may and will
confidently tread into the permanent tomorrow.
Thus, this One Sermon to Preach encompasses the
grace and power of Word and Sacrament ministry, guaranteeing success to this
and any congregation, but above all it directs men’s eyes to focus on the death
of our Lord upon the Altar of the Cross, whereby He won for us eternal Life!
Amen.
May the peace of God, which passes all
understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.