General Prayer Proper 23 Pentecost 18

Lord God heavenly Father, we sing Your praises and exult in Your goodness for clothing us with the garments of salvation.  Hear the prayers of Your people as we come to You in Jesus’ name:

Grant us Your grace to believe that there is coming a day when death will be swallowed up forever and we will feast in Your presence with those we love who have died in the faith.  Comfort all who mourn with this Good News that You are greater than death. 

When we worried and anxious remind us that You are with us on the journey through life so that we would be filled with joy and peace no matter where that journey leads.  We especially remember Terry and Kacie who have been granted another year of life, that You would be with them and bless them all their days.

Help us to be people of prayer, always ready to take our requests to You with the confidence that You hear us and answer us for Jesus’ sake.  We give You thanks and praise for all of the prayers You have graciously answered this week.  Let Your faithfulness deepen our faith in You.

Give us the spiritual gift of discernment so that we would fill our hearts and minds with things that are true and honorable and lovely and pure.  Bless Your people with writers and artists and musicians who can convey Your beauty and goodness to us through what they create. 

Surround us with fellow Christians who are worthy of our imitation and help us to be worthy of the imitation of others.   

Open our eyes to see the needs of those around us, our hearts to have compassion upon them, and our hands to meet those needs.  Whatever the circumstances of our own life, whether we are brought low or abound, help us to be content with what You provide, and give us the confidence that we can do all things in Your strength.  We especially pray for Keyla and Evan and all who are ill, that You would grant them healing according to Your will.  We also pray for expectant mothers, that You would grant them safe deliveries and healthy children.

We thank You Lord that Jesus Christ has made a place for us in Your kingdom and that the Holy Spirit has invited us to take our place there.  We pray that You would empower Your servants who take that invitation to the world, that all who hear it would respond in faith.  As we come to Holy Communion and partake of a foretaste of the feast to come, help us to repent of our sins, amend our lives, and renew our faith in Jesus Christ.   

Heavenly Father, we look forward to the return of Your Son Jesus Christ and we pray that You would clothe us in His righteousness so that we can live forever with You in the kingdom of Your Son.  It is in His name that we pray.  Amen.

A Fragrant Offering and Sacrifice to God

Ephesians 5:1,2 Be imitators of God.  This is the high calling of our Christian life.  But what do these words mean, that we are to be imitators of God? 

They certainly can’t mean that we are to mimic God’s omniscience or omnipotence or omnipresence for we do not and cannot possess those divine attributes. 

Neither can these words mean that we are to demand of others that they put us at the center of their own lives and love and worship us as god for that would be blasphemy.  And so what do those words mean that we are to be imitators of God?

They mean that our heart and mind and life are to be shaped and guided and formed by God.  They mean that the world around us will be able to see in us something true and real about God because of how we live our lives- and what we value- and how we treat others.  They mean that we are to be “chips off the old block” as the saying goes.

When Caroline and I lived in Ft. Worth, one of our next door neighbors was a lady named LaVerne.  And when she saw Jacob and I outside together, with me mowing the lawn and him following along with his Fisher Price toy mower, she would say “there goes Pete and Repeat.” 

One of us was tall and one short.  One of us was older and the other younger.  But there was something familiar between the two of us.  You could see the family connection.

That is what these words mean, “Be imitators of God as beloved children.”  This relationship of a father to his children is the key to our high calling as Christians, that the way we live our lives and treat others reveals the truth about God in a meaningful way because there is a family resemblance between us and God—a family resemblance that is readily seen in us by others because God is our Father and we are his children.  The Bible says: 

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

This high calling of our Christians life, that we are to be imitators of God, comes from God’s love for us in Jesus Christ.  The law cannot produce that family resemblance in us.  Force cannot extract the image of God from us.  Coercion cannot make us children.  Let me give you an example:

Most of us have seen the video of British hostage John Cantlie reading propaganda produced by his Muslim captors.  We know that these are not his views but he is forced to do it with a sword at his neck.  The words that he is speaking and the action he is taking is completely different than what is in his heart.

In the same way the Law of God and the threats of his punishment can make us outwardly obedient but they cannot make us new people like our heavenly Father.  They cannot produce in us a new heart and a new mind and a new spirit.  They cannot cause us to be born again into God’s family as his sons and daughters.

Only the Father’s love can do that—the love that he has shown to the world in his Son Jesus Christ.  The Bible says that: 

God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, who whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

This is what the Apostle Paul is talking about when he says that Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross is what it took to bring us back into God’s family.  The offering of his body and blood crucified on Calvary is the costthat came with making us God’s children so that we can imitate God and reflect his love to the world.   Now…

None of us are by nature children of God.  In fact, by nature, we are his enemies.  And yet the Bible says:  God showed us love for us in this, that while were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Before we could do anything to please God earn his favor, when we no longer resembled what God created us and intended us to be because his image was lost to us, when we were his enemies rather children, God loved us and sent his Son Jesus to live and die for us so that we could be restored to God’s family and imitate him and reflect his love to all we meet.

This restoration is the mission of God in the world and our mission is to make sure that his love and saving purpose extends to every person in the world.  God takes no pleasure in the death of anyone and so he sent his Son Jesus to give us life.

But the way to life for us went through the way of death for God’s own Son.  Sin had to be punished.  Atonement had to be made.  Holiness had to be fulfilled.  And so God sent his Son into the world on this mission of mercy and love and forgiveness and reconciliation, a mission that he had planned for from the beginning. 

From the beginning, God himself established the principle that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.  That is how seriously God takes sin and he always has! 

When Adam and Even sinned in the garden an animal was sacrificed so that their sin and shame could be covered and from that moment on the shedding of blood was the central act of worship for God’s people so that they could understand sin’s cost and rejoice in the cleansing of God-given forgiveness. 

In the Old Testament Moses described how animals were brought to the place of worship and the priest placed it on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord".

Now this doesn’t mean that God is especially pleased with the small of steaks cooking on the grill.  What it does mean is that God is pleased with the sacrifices of his people- and the faith with which they are offered- and the opportunity to forgive their sins and be reconciled to them through the shedding of blood.

That is exactly the kind of sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross.  The Bible says that the sacrifice of Jesus was a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  It pleased God because it was perfect and holy and complete and given in love for a world full of sinners.

Every sacrifice ever made before that moment was a sign pointing to that “once for all” sacrifice that Jesus made of his own life to reconcile us to God.  The Bible says that Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins but not just for ours, but also for the sin of the world. 

It is because of that sacrifice that we are reconciled to God and have a place in his family and a mission to imitate him in the world.  The Bible says that

we who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, Jesus has now reconciled in his body of flesh by death, in order to present us holy and blameless and above reproach before God. 

It is through faith in that sacrifice that once again the image of God has been restored in us so that we can truly be imitators of God and walk in love just as Christ loved us.

You see, God does not leave us to our own devices to figure out how to love one another.  He gives us a model to imitate and that is the example of his own Son. The Bible says that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, that in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” and so when we walk in love as Christ loved us, sacrificing ourselves for others, offering our resources for his service, we become imitators of God.

            And so let’s look again at the example of Christ as the model for our imitation of God.  Paul says that Christ loved us.  That is where our life with God begins and that is where our life for others begins—with love.  Jesus says that:  the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

To love others as Christ loved us means that first of all, and above all, we are concerned about our neighbor’s eternal salvation—that we have the Father’s love and Jesus’ heart for the lost.

Now, it is important to care for our neighbor’s physical needs.  We can’t honestly say we love someone if we see someone cold and hungry without providing for those needs. 

But above those physical needs (which only affect their life here on earth) is our neighbor’s spiritual need for salvation.  Jesus fed the hungry and healed the sick but his real mission was to see God’s children return to their Father. 

So it must be for the child of God who walks in love and imitates their heavenly Father that our first concern is for the salvation of all people.  That mission of love and salvation is what drives our life as a church and as individual Christians. 

But how is that love for souls shown?  The Bible says that Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  And so God’s love is shown by us as we give of ourselves and our offerings just as Christ gave his life for us and offered himself for our salvation.

We give of ourselves when we leave our comfort zones and witness to others.  We give of ourselves when we go out of our way to be kind and merciful to those in need.  We give of ourselves when we make sure that our children’s eternal welfare is our first concern so that they come to know and love the Lord.

We give our offerings for missions so that God’s love can be shown to others in places where we cannot go. 

As we give of ourselves and our offerings, as we imitate God’s love for others, as we take our place in his mission, this high calling of our Christian life becomes our own fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  To that end may God grant us his grace!  Amen.

The Authority of Jesus and the Obedience of Faith

Matthew 21:23-32 Jesus did not simply say wise and pious things that we can take or leave without any concern that they have a claim on us.  He said that he was the only way to have a life with God; that he had been with God in the beginning; that to know him was to know God; that he had the power to forgive sins; and that he would return to judge the world. 

When it comes to the identity of Jesus, because of what he said about himself, we cannot simply call him a great teacher or wise leader but in the end, just a man.  By his own testimony about himself, Jesus never made this an option.  Instead, C.S. Lewis says that we ought to consider the identity of Jesus this way:  liar, lunatic, or Lord—a trilemma where each option poses a difficulty.  And so then…

    If we consider the claims of Jesus in light of our choices:  liar, lunatic, or Lord, we have to say that if these claims were lies, he is the worst kind of man—a scoundrel, a deceiver, a destroyer of souls like Jim Jones or David Koresh.  But when we read in the Bible about what he taught, everyone in the world affirms that this is the way we ought to live.

But what if he were a lunatic?  What if he were like someone suffering from a profound mental illness that makes them believe that they are Napoleon—someone to pity but certainly not to take seriously their claims.  And yet we see in the Bible how people were drawn to Jesus, how they loved him, how good and kind and gentle he was, how everyone—friends and enemies—took him seriously.   

That leaves just one option—that he was not a liar or a lunatic—but that he was the Lord—that his claims about himself were true:  that he is the eternal God in human flesh.  But what is the difficulty with that view?  After all, isn’t that exactly what we believe! 

The difficulty with the view that Jesus is Lord does not lie within the life of Jesus or what he taught or his claims about himself.  The difficulty lies within the hearts of men. 

You see, if Jesus was a liar then we can reject him and we should!  If he were a lunatic we can pity him and we should!  But to confess Jesus as Lord is to acknowledge his absolute authority over us and recognize how much of our lives are still lived outside his gracious, mighty rule when what we ought to do is offer him the obedience of faith.  The Bible says that:

When [Jesus] entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”  

What were those things that had them so concerned?  Several days earlier Jesus had ridden into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey and was welcomed as a king and proclaimed him the Son of David.  The next day Jesus entered the temple and drove out the money-changers and claimed it as his own house of prayer.  He healed the blind and the lame and received the praises of children.  And he cursed a fig tree for its lack of fruitfulness and it withered at once.

Was he a liar when he promised his disciples that whatever they asked for in prayer they would receive?  Was he a lunatic who went around making a scene in sacred places and cursing plants?  Or was he the Lord whose words and actions clearly portrayed him as the anointed One from heaven and the one true king who has authority to rule over all men?

That was the question in the minds of the religious leaders.  We need to get this settled in our own minds as well.  Now maybe you say, “But Pastor, I’ve decided this a long time ago.  I know that Jesus is my Lord, he is my master, and he is my king.”  I’m glad! 

But what does it mean for us that our King has commanded us to forgive and we still hold grudges?  What does it mean for us that our King has commanded us to stop worrying and our hearts are filled with anxiety?  What does it mean for us that our king has commanded us to seek his kingdom first when all kinds of other things take priority over our life with God?

What does it mean when his word—is not the last word—in our lives?  At the very least it means that there is a lack of clarity about who Jesus is and what his role is in our life. 

But there shouldn’t be!  The words of Jesus about himself- and the witness of the Old Testament to Jesus- and the actions of Jesus- are more than enough to identify him as our one true king whose divine authority calls for the obedience of faith.  It should have been enough for the religious leaders too which is why Jesus answers them as he does.  He said:

 “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?”

            There was much in the ministry of John the Baptist that the religious leaders could appreciate.  He was calling sinners to repentance and proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven was at hand.  People were confessing their sins and leaving behind their old, sinful way of life.  And that message and those results were fine with the religious powers of the day. 

We all like it when a scoundrel is told to straighten up and fly right and he does!  We can all appreciate a sermon that applies to someone else!

            But John went farther than that!  Not only did John call open sinners to repentance he also said that the religious leaders needed to repent as well—that they were in the worst shape of all spiritually because they were covering up their sin with a false piety.

And there was more!  Besides calling people to turn from sin he was also calling them to believe in Jesus as the Savior of the world.  Here was the real problem for them. 

If the religious leaders acknowledged that John’s authority was from heaven they had to acknowledge Jesus as their Savior and King because the content of John’s ministry was Jesus and- this- they- would- not -do.  The Bible says that:

They discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” They answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. 

Jesus didn’t answer them directly because they already knew the answer and rejected it.  John proclaimed Jesus to be the Savior of the world but if they acknowledged Jesus’ identity they would have to also admit that his divine authority also extended to them.  They would have to yield themselves to Jesus’ rule over their lives and this they would not do.

So it is for so many in our world today.  They say that Jesus is a good man and wise man—but just a man.  Even we Christians struggle with what it means that Jesus in our king and true, sovereign Lord.  We respect Jesus and admire what he taught.  We think his life ought to be an example for us all.  We’re glad he is our Savior.  But that he is our King means that we will have to listen to and do what he says.  It means that our lives will have to change.  Jesus said:

“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went.  And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. 

            Both of these men were sons. Both had a problem with the Father’s authority.  Both of them said “no” to a direct command from their Father.  Shocking!

            The first son had a change of heart and did as his father commanded.  This first son represented all the people who had taken to heart the message of John the Baptist and repented and amended their lives after a lifetime of sin and believe in Jesus.

            For the people in this group, there was no telling how many times they had heard that they needed to change their ways from friends and family and religious leaders—no telling how many times they had closed their ears to the voice of the Spirit—no telling how many times they kept right on doing what they were doing--but when they heard John something clicked and their hearts and lives were changed.

            Many of us have had the same experience.  If we came to faith late in life or even if God has laid on our heart some change we need to make after we came to faith and we resisted it and closed our ears to it but then one day we heard the Spirit in a new way and our hearts were changed--we understand how it was for this first son who repented. 

It would have been better if we had never resisted the Spirit.  It would have been better if we had never said “no” to our heavenly Father.  But God is glad to see a heart that is changed whenever that happens and that is true for us too.  If we find ourselves on the wrong track—if we have been making room for sin—it is not too late to repent. What about the other son?

The second son said the right things—what came out of his mouth sounded good—but he never did get around to doing what the Father wanted. 

This second son represented the men Jesus was talking to-the religious leaders who knew all the right words to say but never did yield their heavenly Father the obedience of faith.  He also represents every hypocrite sitting in a church pew who has never really come to faith at all-who still lives in sin--and yet says the right things and goes through the motions on Sunday. 

But that is not enough and even the religious leaders knew it.  Jesus asked them:  Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” The one who repented?

The father loved both sons.  He had a will and a plan for both of them.  But for each of them it would take a change of heart and mind about the direction of their lives and a willingness to do their father’s will.  Everyone falls into one of those two categories of the first son who eventually comes in or the second son who still needs to come in.

Even though he is not mentioned in the story, there is another Son—a third Son who said yes to his Father and who did his father’s will.  That third son is the One who tells this story—God’s only-begotten Son, Jesus.  Jesus spoke his Father’s word and did his Father’s will.  He was obedient unto death—even death on a cross.

It is because of his perfect obedience that the first two sons can be part of the Father’s family at all if they will only repent of their sins and believe in the Son.  Jesus said:

“Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.

            It’s important to recognize that Jesus is not saying that there was not a place for them in the kingdom.  There was-- if they were willing to repent of their sins and believe in Jesus!  So long as they were living and breathing there was a day of grace when they could have a change of heart and mind, acknowledge the authority of Jesus over their lives, confess him as Lord and Savior and take their place in the kingdom. 

But that would only come as they believed the message of John the Baptist that Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  Jesus was given that wonderful authority by his heavenly Father who sent him into the world for these men and for all of us for- that- very- purpose!

Open, notorious sinners believed that message, repented of their sins, amended their lives and entered the kingdom of heaven.  The religious leaders had seen this remarkable change with their own eyes. 

The authority of Jesus was only a problem for them because they rejected God’s salvation in Jesus. 

But for the tax collector- and the prostitute- and the sinner sitting in these pews and standing in this pulpit--it is the best possible news that Jesus possesses the authority to take our sins upon himself and wipe them clean by his blood.  It is because of him alone that the Father calls us his sons and daughters and invites us to take our place in his vineyard.  As we hear the Spirit’s call this morning, let us offer our King and Savior the obedience of faith!  Amen.

General Prayer Pentecot 16 Proper 21a

Gracious heavenly Father, You are abundant in power and Your understanding is beyond measure.  Hear us as we pray in Jesus’ name and answer us for our good:

You have promised to lift up the humble and cast the wicked to the ground.  Look upon our nation and its leaders and our fellow citizens with mercy and help us to humble ourselves before You as our one true King.  Cast down our enemies and protect our military personnel who serve You for our good.

We believe that You have numbered the stars and given to them all their names for You are the Creator of heaven and earth.  Continue to graciously sustain and uphold this world and meet the needs of Your creatures.  Give food to the hungry and shelter to the homeless and jobs to the discouraged.

Throughout our life, help us by Your holy Spirit to turn from wickedness and do what is just.  Create in us a new heart and new spirit that desires to do what is right in Your sight.

As we interact with those around us, help us to count others more significant than ourselves and put their needs before our own.  Fill us with love and affection and sympathy for one another and help us with one heart and mind to hold fast to the word of Christ.

Bless our marriages and families and make them places where we can grow in Christ-likeness and experience Your love.  Especially do we pray for Emma as she celebrates her second birthday, that You would bless her in body and soul all her days.

Because You take no pleasure in the death of anyone, You sent Your Son Jesus Christ to be our Savior.  Through faith in him and his work for us we have forgiveness and life.  As we give You thanks for the gift of salvation help us also to acknowledge him as our true King and Sovereign Lord and do his will in word and deed.

According to Your promise heal the broken-hearted and bind up the wounded.  Especially do we pray for Marty and Mildred.  Protect expectant mothers and grant them safe deliveries and healthy children.  Especially do we pray for Jodie that You would give her health and strength.

Be with us all throughout our life and in every moment and circumstance help us to sing Your praises until that day we join our voices with all the saints around the throne of the Lamb in his kingdom.  Amen.