Sermon for the Baptism of Our Lord

It is You Who Should Baptize Me!

Text: Matthew 3:13-17

John the Baptist stands in the Jordan River in his strange clothes proclaiming repentance to the forgiveness of sins and baptizing all who come to see him. He is the last, for now, in a long line of Prophets who not only proclaimed repentance to sinners as well but heralded the coming of the Messiah. Now that Messiah is here. Jesus has entered the water to be baptized by His cousin John.

Jesus, the perfect God-man who is without any sin at all, and who alone bears the distinction of being the Son of God. John's baptism is a sinner's baptism. Why must Jesus be baptized?

The more we think about it, the more confused we find ourselves. John the Baptist is confused as well. He understandably tries to prevent Jesus from making him do this. What does it mean when Jesus answers John, "'Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.' [and] Then [John] consented (Matthew 3:15)."

When God looked at our situation, He found the final solution. He took all the sins of human beings, and he hung them around the neck of the one alone in this world that was without sin, and therefore He becomes the greatest sinner of all. In fact, He becomes the only sinner on earth, because their sins are now His. Upon His bleeding crown were heaped every single sin of every person, and under the weight of that yoke, He died for you.

Because Jesus has become that sinner, He must receive the sinner's baptism. He must be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, not with respect to his own nature, but for all our sake's because those are our transgressions which He bears. He plunges them through the cleansing waters of life, washing them away from Himself. Therefore He has washed them away from You - not here in the Jordan, but soon in a river of blood and water upon the cross.

Sermon for the Epiphany of Our Lord

The Doctor, The Viking,

The Reporter, & the Carpenter

Text: Matthew 2:1-12 The visit of the Magi & I John 1:5-9

Dr. Willem Kolff, late in the 1930s, watched helplessly as an otherwise healthy young man slowly died of kidney failure. With the dawn of the second world war materials were scarce. Somehow he cobbled together the world's first artificial kidney, the forerunner of the modern dialysis machine, using sausage skins, orange juice cans, a washing machine, and other common items to make a device that could clear the blood of toxins.

Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðarson, in the year 868AD, left Norway to search for the land accidentally discovered by a fellow countryman where no land was supposed to be. He packed everything up and took his whole family in his longboat and sailed West into parts unknown.

Lee Patrick Strobel was an investigative journalist who won fame by covering the Ford Pinto crash trial. After a near-death experience in their family, Lee's wife became a Christian. Lee decided to investigate the Bible to prove definitively that God's Word is all made up. During this personal journey, he discovered that the claims the Bible makes are actually true.

A little over two thousand years ago, some learned individuals from what used to be called Persia, now Iran, were studying the stars and discovered a new one. They knew from sacred writings that this star would lead them to the one "born King of the Jews." They packed up some gifts appropriate for a king and saddled up for their journey West into the unknown, where they came upon the family of a humble carpenter who was about to flee with his family and settle in Egypt.

What did all of these events have in common?

Each of them required a leap of faith.

Sermon for Christmas Eve

Behold the Child Born for You

Texts: John 1:1-14; Luke 2:1-20

"I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.. (Luke 2:10-11 NKJV)." For you, right here, right now, listening to what I tell you. In Jesus' taking on human form, He embraces all of humanity.

That adorable little baby we see in nativity scenes and in art didn't just become A man. He became ALL men. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He took everything we refer to as human into Himself. Those artists have the right idea when they paint Jesus looking like them because Jesus came to bear the sins of all humanity in that newborn body. That includes those artists. And it includes each one of you and every other person on earth that has ever lived, or will ever live, or is alive today. The Christ-child took on human form to be the best human being of all time. Perfect in every way. Sinless.

When we look at Jesus, we see what you and I are supposed to have been, not what we've become because of our sin. Once we are baptized into Christ, our flesh is joined to God because Jesus Christ took on our flesh and bound Himself to us. Heaven and earth are at peace. And as we live each new day in Christ, we are put right with one another. The only peace in this world that can ever last is the peace we have in Jesus, where God's love for the world is revealed. For this reason, we can sing with the angels, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:14 NKJV)."

Jesus bore His lowly birth, his modest life, and His humiliating death so that you could be dignified. So you could be exalted. So you might live in His kingdom. He rose from the dead so that you can claim eternal life as your own. That is why that baby was born in a barn. That's precisely what He did. Born in the company of animals so He could die outside with criminals for company. Wrapped in swaddling clothes to keep Him warm, He will trade for linen grave wrappings. The wood of a manager traded for a cross. This is what Jesus was born to do. This is what He has done. All for you. Behold Jesus, born, died, and risen again so you could have the power to be called a child of God.

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Advent

Clean Hands, Pure Hearts, Good Words

Text: Psalm 24

"Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. (Psalm 24:3-5 ESV)."

The Psalmist answers the question of who shall ascend the hill by first talking about our hands. "He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. (Psalm 24:4 ESV). King David has answered the question, but that only gives us more questions to ask of ourselves. Are my hands clean? Is my heart pure? Are my words truthful, and have I used them in the best way? Now we are in big trouble!

Are your hands clean? The Psalm is talking about hands used to do what is good and right in God's eyes. But these miraculous hands God has given us are used so often to do precisely the opposite. Those miracles of engineering God gave us to care for this world and for our neighbors can clench into a fist to punch or a pointing finger to accuse others of wrongdoing and make ourselves look better in the process of doing so. No, my hands are not clean. I can make them look clean, but under a microscope, they're covered with germs. By all appearances, my hands look busy doing the Lord's work, but in reality, they can be busy doing things they shouldn't. Are your hands any cleaner?

How pure is your heart? Mine is no better than my hands. We could probably stop there, but David listed one more thing that can allow us into the presence of God. One whose words are true. We should have quit while we were ahead.

If our hands aren't clean, our hearts are not pure, and our words are deceitful, then who can stand in our Creator's holy place? The Psalm tells us when to prick our ears up when it says, "Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Psalm 24:7 ESV)."

Who is this King of glory? He is none other than the Christ child we anticipate welcoming in our worship services this week. None other than the crucified and risen Lord, who we expect welcoming on the day of judgment."

Wedding Sermon for Derek Daughters & Cassandra Neely

A Bond in Christ not Easily Broken

Texts: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, 9:9-10; I Corinthians 12:31-13:13; John 15:9-12

Derek and Cassandra, until now, you have been separate entities. When we say Derek, we also think of Cassandra and vice-versa. We always picture a pair, never one without the other. In just a few moments, however, you will no longer be a pair. You will be bonded together into one. This is the beauty of Christian marriage.

When the rubber meets the road, your love can be put to the test. There is one thing you need for all the times, and His name is Jesus! The great thing about Christ is that He bound Himself to each of you the day you were baptized. Since then, you've never really been alone. The wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon, once wrote: "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.(Ecclesiastes 4:9–12"

Because the honest truth is, even with Jesus at the heart of you're marriage, sometimes you will be impatient. Sometimes you will be thoughtless. You might be rude. You might be jealous. You might be living for yourself than for each other. You might be blind to your own shortcomings even though you have a photographic memory of your spouse's faults.

When you sin, Jesus will turn you toward His cross and move you to repentance and pronounce absolution. When you sin against one another, He will turn you one to the other to repent and forgive as He has forgiven you. That list of what love is we heard before? That is precisely what Christ's love for His church, each of you, and your marriage looks like. With Christ at the center of that three-stranded braid, He will enable you to see His grace, forgiveness, and love at work in you and in your partner.