Monday, December 31, 2012

December 30th, 2012


CHRISTMAS 1
December 29/30, 2012
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Hebrews 2:10-18

“JESUS IS!”
1.     Not ashamed.
2.     Like us in every way.
3.     Able to help

Hebrews 2:10-18 (NIV 1984)  In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12 He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers;    in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.”13 And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again he says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.”14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

          Surely I’m not the only one who’s gotten caught up with his kids in the “Why?” game. You know how it goes. “Why does the green light mean Go?” “Because we need a signal we will all follow.” “But why is green Go?” “I suppose because they both start with G.” “Then why does the red means stop?” “Why? Why? Why?” It can go on forever. Sometimes you can provide satisfactory answers. Sometimes not. Christmas can get us believers asking, “Why?” We know what. God’s Son was born of the Virgin Mary. Why? Why did it have to be that way? Today in God’s Word God gives us some answers to the question why that lead us to marvel at how God’s wisdom and love for us combine to give us ongoing Christmas blessings.
          Our text is from the letter to the Hebrews. If you recall it was written mainly to Jewish believers whose resolve to stick with Jesus as Messiah was being tested. Their religion was considered new. Illegal in some places. Those Jews who rejected Jesus had it easier. Was having Jesus as Messiah better than still waiting for one? “Absolutely!” is God’s answer in the letter to the Hebrews as it unfolds reason after reason why Jesus is the best. We’ll look at just a few of them.
          First Jesus is not ashamed. Not ashamed of what?  In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. If you want a big picture answer to the question, “Why” it’s because God loves us. For Him and through Him everything exists and what do we find Him busy with? Bringing us to glory. Getting us to heaven. We have to go through tribulations, sufferings on our way to heaven. In order to get us to heaven Jesus had to as well. That’s one of the reasons he had to become a human being. But did you catch one of the benefits? Jesus is not ashamed. He’s not ashamed to be connected to us. To call us brothers. You know in just about every family there’s that one the others are ashamed of. The quirky uncle. The eccentric aunt. The black sheep of the family. Maybe even convicted of some crime. It takes great love to take ownership then and to resist the shame of being connected to them. Jesus has every reason to be ashamed of us. We know ourselves. We know what we’ve done. We know how we think of ourselves and other people. Most of our sins we would be ashamed if other people knew about. Well Jesus does know. He knows you. He knows where you struggle. He knows where you fall. He knows you better than you do. He is the holy, sinless Son of God and He is not ashamed to call you brother.
          He is also like us in every way.  “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. Why? But why? Why does He have to be become one of us? In a word, substitute. If you had a chance to go to the Christmas service presented by our school children you saw that theme beautifully proclaimed. It started with the substitute God provided to be sacrificed instead of Isaac to the substitute lamb that was sacrificed every Passover to Jesus the Lamb of God who was sacrificed as a substitute to pay for our sins. In order to be our substitute Jesus had to be a legitimate one. He had to be like us in every way. Since we have flesh and blood He had to have flesh and blood. And He did. That’s why He spent time from conception to birth in His mother’s womb. Because we do. He was born because we are. He had to eat and drink and grow. He had to be able to die. Why? To destroy the power of  the Devil. To pay the wages of sin. To free us from fearing death by turning it into the doorway to heaven. He was like us in every way except He never gave in to sin.
          That’s why Jesus is able to help. “For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Remember this was written to Jewish Christians who were thinking of turning their backs on Jesus as their Messiah and joining other Jews who were still living like their Messiah had never come. In Old Testament worship they relied on the High Priest to represent them to God, to make the sacrifices for sin that pictured Messiah’s sacrifice. Some of the High Priests did their jobs well. Some not. Think of Caiaphas. None of them were perfect. But Jesus is. He made the once for all sacrifice. He is merciful. He can empathize with us.
          That’s not always easy to do, is it? Generally we can empathize well with someone who goes through things we can relate to. For instance if there is some sin you struggle with it becomes an understandable sin. You can see someone falling into that. If you don’t struggle with those sins they are reprehensible. How could anyone do that and call themselves a Christian? Or even take something like smoking or trying to lose weight. I never started smoking so I don’t know what that is like. Then you will hear of someone whose doctor tells them they need to quit. And I’ll think. Well just quit. How hard can that be? But those who are trying to will tell you it is very hard. I just can’t relate. I can’t empathize. I can’t help. Now if it was coffee that had to be given up…!
          Jesus can relate to be tempted. He does empathize and He is able to help. Here we are told Jesus suffered when He was tempted. We are only told about the 3 temptations that Jesus faced when the Devil tempted Him in the wilderness but don’t think those are the only ones. Elsewhere we are told He was tempted in every way just like we are, yet was without sin. He was tempted just like we are. He was tempted with all the sins we are tempted with. Can you imagine? He suffered during those temptations. You know what that is like when the battle for good and evil rages in your heart, when the Devil makes sin seem so appealing it seems irresistible. But it is resistible. Jesus resisted every time so that He could provide us with perfect obedience. And so He can help those are being tempted.
          That’s another reason why He had to become one of us. So He could help us. What temptations are you facing? Which ones come to you? Greed, jealousy, lust, vengeance, worry? Jesus is there to help you. He is able to help you. We just need to go to Him, to pray for His help instead of trying to fight alone. It is one of the reasons why for Christmas.
          God has answered some of our Christmas whys. But just asking why doesn’t make you wise. Listening and putting into practice does. Don’t leave Jesus lying in a manger. He longs to be with you more and more every day. He is not ashamed of you. He’s your perfect substitute, like you in every way. He is able to help. Use Him. Amen.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Christmas Day 2012


CHRISTMAS DAY
December 25, 2012
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Matthew 1:18-25

“CHRISTMAS GIFTS!”
1.     God’s Gifts.
2.     Joseph’s Gifts
3.     Our Gifts

Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV 1984)  “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.”22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

          There’s really no getting around it, is there? You can’t separate Christmas from gifts. It’s firmly entrenched in the American psyche that Christmas is a time for gift giving and gift receiving. From a secular standpoint businesses and the economy depend on Christmas gift buying to increase sales and boost profitability. For many people receiving gifts fills an emptiness in the heart with some temporary happiness. We Christians wouldn’t want to separate Christmas from gifts either. If we wanted to act like little kids we would point to God and say, “He started it! He did it first!” God started this whole Christmas giving with His gift on Christmas Day. So let’s join the Christmas fun by looking at all kinds of different Christmas gifts suggested to us by what might be called the secondary Christmas story, Matthew’s Gospel account rather than Luke’s.
          And as is only fitting we start with God’s gifts at Christmas, the ones He gives. This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.” We can stop right there. There is the first gift. Jesus Christ. Christ means “Anointed One,” the one chosen to do a special job. Jesus is the name given to the one who will save us from our sins. That’s a gift that lasts into eternity. Sadly, it’s a gift we often have to work at appreciating. Maybe some imagining will help. Recently Chris and I saw the Rep’s production of  “A Christmas Carol.” If you are familiar with the story Scrooge is taken by three ghosts to see Christmas past, present and future if things did not change. It’s not a pretty sight. Our past is done. We are at the present. But what would our future be without Jesus? The wages of sin is death in Hell. Have you had the funeral of a loved one recently? Have you had to attend a loved one as they died recently? Imagine doing that knowing they were headed for eternal pain and torment! How awful. Imagine as you get older and older in years starting to dread every cold and cough instead of treating it as no big deal. Is this the one that sends me to Hell? But we don’t have to think that way. Our funeral gatherings for believers in Jesus get to have sorrow over missing someone mixed with happiness for their happiness in heaven because God gave us the gift of Jesus who has saved us from our sins.
          He gave more gifts at Christmas. “His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.” Mary received the gift of being the mother of the Savior of the world. Can you imagine? What an honor. What a privilege. How nice to see her receive that gift with humility and faith. Joseph received a gift too. “Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” Oftentimes people separate gifts into the kind they want and the kind they need. While we could say that God’s gift to Mary was in the want category, God’s gift to Joseph was definitely in that need category. Can you blame him for not believing Mary? She’s pregnant. Has this whole angel and miracle story all worked out. Who does she think he is? He wasn’t born yesterday. There’s only one way she got pregnant. She cheated. But she hadn’t. Joseph needed to know that. God made sure he did. An angel in a dream. Today too, brothers and sisters, God continues to pour out gifts on His people. Some are like Mary’s, an honor or privilege. Maybe things always seem to go your way or you have some abilities the world fawns over. Receive them with humility and faith. Take care of them like Mary did. Like with Joseph, God also gives the gifts you need. Whatever God asks you to go through He will give you what you need to get through it.
          But God wasn’t done yet. Another Christmas gift. “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” The way everything happened was also a gift. All was done deliberately by God to fulfill prophecy so that generations of people who have lived after the first Christmas get to know that in Jesus we have the real Savior who is God with us.
          But God wasn’t the only gift giver at Christmas. Joseph gave gifts too. He gave gifts to the people around him. He cared about them. He cared about the impressions he left. He is described as a righteous man, someone who cared that the way he lived reflected on God. That’s why he couldn’t go along with the out of wedlock pregnancy. He didn’t want people taking wrong impressions. He had no desire to embarrass Mary either so he wasn’t going to make a big deal. He wouldn’t take her to her father’s house or before the synagogue elders and demand the payment for adultery which was death. He cared. By so doing Joseph gave a gift to us. It’s cool to care how you live, to think about impressions you might give and how that will reflect on the Lord. It’s righteous to be concerned about humiliating other people.
          Joseph also gave a gift to God. He obeyed. “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Willing obedience to the commands of God is the most meaningful way to show love to God. It’s been that way since the Garden of Eden. Joseph’s careful obedience showed his love for God. He did what God commanded even though people would talk. In so doing Joseph gave to the world the gift of his service. He had not asked for this role. God gave it to him. We can be sure Joseph spent the rest of his life being the best father he could be to Jesus.
          Now we’ve had God’s gifts that we have received. We’ve had Joseph’s gifts we have received. There’s this thing that goes around at Christmas. You don’t just get gifts. You give them too. What gifts could we give this Christmas? We can’t give God’s type of gifts. Only He can give that. But we can give Joseph’s type of gifts. Let’s start with obedience. Did you have any trouble finding a gift for someone this year? You know the type where they already have everything they want. What do you get them? What do you get for our loving Father in heaven? He has everything He wants, or does He? What God wants is our hearts. When He has our hearts He gets our willing obedience. We can sharpen our consciences by looking at the 10 Commandments and then out of love for God strive daily to obey them. He’d like that. We can give the gift of example to the people around us, caring about the impressions we give. This week one of my friends is going with some other WISCO football coaches to watch a Cincinnati Bengals game as guests of WISCO alum and Bengal 1st round draft pick Kevin Zeitler. Some of them will stay at Kevin’s apartment. Some will stay at his fiancee’s. Did you get that? They are not living together without being married. That’s righteous. Can you imagine how that stands out in the NFL star world? He’s like Joseph. We can do that too. We can each have our own way of caring about impressions and being an example of righteousness in an unrighteous society too. And then there is the gift of service. What is God asking you to do right now? What role has He given you? By filling it to the best of your ability you give the gift of service to God and people around you.
          And why not? It’s Christmas. Christmas is all about gifts. As we once again receive God’s gifts and respond with our gifts to Him and others we’ll find that unlike the secular world our joy will not be temporary. It will stay with us for this life and last into eternity. Thank the Lord for that. Amen.

Monday, December 24, 2012

2012Dec23 from Richard Waldschmidt on Vimeo.

December 23, 2012 - Advent 4 - Sermon by Pastor Paul Eckert
Sermon text - Hebrews 10:1-14
1    The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming - not
the realities themselves.  For this reason it can never, by the same
sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who
draw near to worship.  2 If it could, would they not have stopped being
offered?  For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all,
and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.  3 But those
sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins,  4 because it is impossible for
the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.  5 Therefore, when
Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not
desire, but a body you prepared for me;   6 with burnt offerings and sin
offerings you were not pleased. 7 Then I said, ‘Here I am - it is written
about me in the scroll -  I have come to do your will, O God.’”  8 First
he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you
did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” (although the law
required them to be made).  9 Then he said, “Here I am, I have come
to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second.  10 And
by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all.  11 Day after day every priest stands and
performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same
sacrifices, which can never take away sins.  12 But when this priest had
offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand
of God.  13 Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his
footstool,  14 because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever
those who are being made holy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    When I started preparing for this sermon I first had the thought of
making the theme: “Why Jesus Had A Body.”  That made me think
about a song.  The opening words are “I ain’t got nobody.”  Then I
thought of changing “nobody” into two words, “no body.”  That
makes it “I ain’t got no body.”  That isn’t good English, of course. 
    But as I kept thinking about those words from a song that goes way
back to 1915, I thought of using a car engine as an illustration.  Picture
something.  Picture me going out into a garage and there is an engine
there.  We start talking together.  The engine says to me, “I’m
supposed to pick up my neighbor and take her to the grocery store
across town.  But I ain’t go no body.  My pistons are good.  My belts
are good.  I have oil in my oil pan.  But I ain’t got no body.  I need
something else.  I need a body, a body that has a gas tank, a body that
has a drive shaft to some wheels, a body that has a steering wheel to
get me going in the right direction.  Without that I’ll never get my
neighbor to the grocery store.”
    Before you start worrying about me talking to car engines, I’ll
tell you that I am quite sure you get my point.  The point is not about a
car getting someone to a grocery store, but about our Savior wanting
to get us to heaven.  So I could have made the theme “Why Jesus Had
A Body.”  But instead I’ll make the theme “What Does Christmas
Celebrate?” and then speak of The Old Testament Shadow, The New
Testament Fulfillment, and The Eternal Glory That will Be Ours.
WHAT DOES CHRISTMAS CELEBRATE?
I    THE OLD TESTAMENT SHADOW.  (1-4)
    1. There were various Old Testament laws. (1a)
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming - not
the realities themselves. 
        a) Think of Israel’s food laws - for example not eating pork.  The
purpose was to keep Israel from mixing with the surrounding pagan
nations, to keep Israel separate until God’s promise of a Savior from
the nation of Israel in a town named Bethlehem would be fulfilled.
        b) Then think of the animal sacrifices required of Israel, all kinds
of sacrifices and offerings, lambs and bulls that had to face death.
    2. None of these laws could take care of the problem of sin. (1-4)
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming - not
the realities themselves.  For this reason it can never, by the same
sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those
who draw near to worship.  If it could, would they not have
stopped being offered?  For the worshipers would have been
cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their
sins.  But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because
it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
        a) Eating or not eating certain foods can’t take away a single sin.
        b) If we built an altar here large enough to slaughter a thousand
lambs in each of our services, that would just be an awful mess.  Yes,
that could be a reminder that because of sin blood had to be shed, but
animal blood couldn’t remove even a speck of a sin from us.
    3. Instead they were a shadow, a reminder. (1a,3)
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming - not
the realities themselves.  ---  But those sacrifices are an annual
reminder of sins, ---.   
        a) If you see a shadow you know that something real is causing
the shadow.  The shadow itself is not the real thing. 
        b) So the Old Testament animal sacrifices were intended to be a
shadow of what was real, of a real sacrifice that would actually take
care of paying for sins.
    4. With fulfillment the shadow would pass away.  (1a)
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming - not
the realities themselves. 
        a) We don’t have to observe food laws or sacrifice animals today.
        b) Listen to these words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the
Colossians: “Do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or
drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon
celebration or a Sabbath day.  These are a shadow of the things
that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”
        c) Shadows serve a purpose.  But Christ is the reality!
II    THE NEW TESTAMENT FULFILLMENT.  (5-10)
    1. Animals could be a shadow, a reminder.
        a) After the world fell into sin God said death was the penalty. 
        b) And God proclaimed or pictured that with every sacrifice.  All
of the blood shed was a reminder, a shadow of a death to come, blood
that would be shed, that would have the power to defeat death.
    2. For this a real body was needed. (5-7)
Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice
and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me;
with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.  Then
I said, ‘Here I am - it is written about me in the scroll - I have
come to do your will, O God.’”         
        a) Here Jesus, God’s eternal Son, says, “Animal bodies can’t do
it.  So I have come to do your will, O God.    But for that I need a
body, a body that has blood to shed, a body that is subject to death.”
        b) Yes, Jesus said He was willing to leave eternal glory, ready to
humble Himself and to become obedient to death for us.
    3. Jesus’ incarnation met this need.  (8-9)
First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin
offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”
(although the law required them to be made).  Then he said,
“Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to
establish the second. 
        a) Could animal sacrifices, ceremonies pay for our sins?  Never!
        b) Jesus set that shadow aside, and established the second, the
reality of His presence on this earth, born in Bethlehem clothed in our
flesh and blood, in order to bring the sacrifice that truly pays for sin.
    4. And this is the reality. (1a,10)
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming - not
the realities themselves.  ---  And by that will, we have been made
holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 
        a) Jesus grew up, went from the manger to the cross, and
satisfied God’s justice with His innocent death in place of the guilty.
        b) How clearly Jesus proclaims that to us each time we come to
the Lord’s Supper and hear Him say to us personally, “I gave My body
for you, I shed my blood for you.  Because of that you are forgiven.”
        c) The shadow is fulfilled.  The reality is ours.  Our Savior gave
His body into death so that we might have true life.
III THE ETERNAL GLORY THAT WILL BE OURS.  (10-14)
    1. There is glory right now. (10)
And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of
the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 
        a) Jesus didn’t have to come back visibly to this earth to be
sacrificed over and over again.  His one perfect sacrifice stands before
God as the payment for each and every one of our sins.
        b) That is why God looks at you and me, believers in what His
Son did, and sees us as holy, without sin, in His sight.  What a glorious
Christmas gift, a priceless gift!
    2. Rejoice in our victoriously ascended Savior.  (11-12)
Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious
duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can
never take away sins.  But when this priest had offered for all time
one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.
          a) Jesus left His throne above, humbled Himself to take on
Himself a body on the first Christmas, a body that was sacrificed once.
        b) Victorious, for you and me, He again ascended into glory.
    3. Now we wait for our full glory. (13)
Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, -. 
        a) How long will that be before Jesus ushers in the end?
        b) That won’t be set by a Mayan calendar or any human being.
That time will be set by our God whose wisdom has given us salvation.
    4. Now we know He surely cares for us. (14)
-- because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who
are being made holy.
        a) Do you remember the song I referred to in the beginning, the
song that has the words, “I ain’t got nobody”?
        b) Do you know what the second line is?  This is it: “And nobody
cares for me.”   Yes, “I ain’t got nobody, And nobody cares for me.”
        c) Jesus would change that into: “I got a body, and I most
definitely cared and care for you.  I died for you.  I have forgiven you.
And one day I’ll welcome you into glory with me.”

    Do you see what Christmas really celebrates?  It is our
salvation by God’s eternal Son made flesh in Bethlehem.  Yes, Jesus
had a body because He really did and does care for us.  May we keep
that foremost in our thoughts as we celebrate Christmas.

Monday, December 17, 2012

December 16th, 2012

Dec 16, 2012 from Richard Waldschmidt on Vimeo.


ADVENT 3
December 15-17, 2012
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Luke 3:7-18

“THE LORD IS NEAR!”
1.     Joyfully Repent.
2.     Joyfully look for Jesus.

Luke 3:7-18 (NIV 1984) “John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. 11 John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” 13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. 14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them.”

          If you look at theme that unites the Scripture readings for the 3rd Sunday of Advent you will notice that it is joy, joy that believers get to have because their Lord is near. Each reading spoke to different believers at different times in salvation history yet the message is the same: joy, rejoice, your Lord is near. That thought guides as the day we celebrate the Lord’s birth draws nearer.
          Now I don’t think joy would be the first thought on your mind if you were among the group that had gone out to see John the Baptist. Imagine you are with this crowd of people going out to the desert region near the Jordan River. You are all abuzz. You had heard of this magnificent yet enigmatic and eccentric preacher named John the Baptist. You couldn’t wait to see him and hear him and when you finally do he calls you a bunch of snakes! You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” Ouch! Those are harsh words. Why does he say them? Because there were some snakes there. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were the type of people who didn’t think that they stink. Sin stink that is. They were blind to their own sin. They were confident that they were good enough for God. They had been so zealous for the outward keeping of God’s law that their inner rottenness no longer bothered them.
          Now we have to realize something here. Because we have sinful natures there is a little Pharisee in all of us just waiting to pop out. If you think you don’t stink, watch out. If you are always the victim of someone else’s sins and always seem to find yourself innocent in times of conflict, be careful. If the relative few sins you know of another person bother you more than the many sins you ought to recognize and own up to for yourself, you are a viper who needs to hear that the ax is at your roots and if there is no repentance you will be cut down.
          But if your sins bother you and you are a believer repentance is something you want to do. “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. 11 John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” 13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. 14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” I think it’s clear to most people that Godly repentance involves a whole lot more that being told to say you are sorry and saying “I’m sorry” without meaning it. Nor is repentance something you do in order to become a believer in Jesus. Rather repentance is something you do because you are believers in Jesus. And you do it joyfully. All the repentant believers coming to John wanted to know what to do, how to show their repentance. John’s answer is simple. Stop the sinning and do the daily service God wants you to do. Do your job. Take a peek at the question and answer from the personal order for communion preparation. It guides us to examine ourselves according to the 10 Commandments and the station in life God has placed us. Let’s do that. If we were among the joyful repenters before John, the ones who have been despising God’s Word and not prioritizing worship would ask, “What should we do?” And the children who have been disobeying or disrespecting their parents, the students who have been disobeying or disrespecting their teachers, the workers who have been disobeying or disrespecting their bosses, the citizens who have been disobeying or disrespecting their government’s laws or officials would be asking, “And what should we do?” The ones who have picking on others or abusing their bodies with drugs or alcohol would say, “What should we do?” The ones who are living in sin, using their sexuality without marriage, who are feeding lustful thoughts would say, “What should we do?” The ones who are shoplifting, skimming from the till, unhappy with what God has given would say, “What should we do?” The ones who are telling stories that cause divisions and sets up factions in families and workplaces would ask, “And what should we do?” And John would simply but firmly remind us to stop the sinful actions and do our jobs, the work of the position in life God has assigned to us. And we would want to do that because the Lord is near. Our sins offend Him. So what do you want to do? Let’s joyfully repent.
          And joyfully look for Jesus. That too is part of repentance. Looking to Jesus for forgiveness and salvation. “The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ.” They knew the Lord was near. They were expecting Him to come the first time to serve as Messiah. Signs were there. Prophecies fulfilled. The Lord was near. They were looking for Him. They looked in the wrong place. They thought John the Baptist might be the Messiah.
          They were wrong. “John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them.” John pointed them to Jesus. Only Jesus, the powerful Son of God, can pay for sin. Only Jesus will come again as Judge at the end of the world.
          We too joyfully look for Jesus. And He is near. If you want to find Him so that you can show Him your fruits of repentance, if you want to thank Him by doing something meaningful to Him, the Lord is near. Look no further than the person next to you in church, or the members of your family, or the people that you work with. They are your Jesus’ to be kind to and speak respectfully too. Jesus does not need our physical serving but the people He has placed in our lives do. Joyfully look for Jesus on their faces and treat them accordingly. If you want to talk with Jesus and have Jesus talk with you, the Lord is near. He is as close as the nearest Bible in the pew or the app on your I phone. He talks there. We listen. Look for Jesus in drops of water with the Word at Baptism. See Him come to you with forgiveness in the bread and wine of Communion. If you are looking for Jesus to come again and end the injustice and unrighteousness of this sin sick world that shoots schoolchildren, the Lord is near. Signs He gave us are everywhere. Joyfully look for Him to come because as a believer your sins are forgiven and He comes as Savior not destroyer.
          The Lord is near. Rejoice. That’s the common thread in God’s Word. It’s a message God’s people have heard at all the different points in salvation history. It’s a message for us. Yet we are not always joyful. Why not? What’s stealing your joy? Is someone whispering Satan’s sweet nothings in your ear? Choice morsels of gossip or dissension? Stay away from them. It’s not worth it. The Lord is near and He hears those things too. Are your eyes and heart set on things below? Earthly matters and issues of more importance than your salvation? Set you minds on things above. The Lord is near. Some problem or struggle constantly vexing you, a burr in your saddle. The Lord is near. He sees. He knows. He acts when it’s best. The Lord stays near so you and I can rejoice, rejoice as we repent and rejoice as we look for Him. Amen.