Sermon for New Year's Eve, 2005

Message: “Jesus: Beginning, Middle, End” Matthew 1:18-21

1. Grace mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Tonight’s message is entitled, “Jesus, Beginning, Middle and End” and is taken from the Gospel of Matthew 1:18-21. Dear brother’s and sisters in Christ. T.S. Eliot, the English poet and playwright, thought of life as ongoing exploration. And what is the end of our exploring? As he states it will be “to arrive where we started.” As human beings we can’t avoid beginnings and endings, because we’re created by God and have a beginning at our birth. We’re born into this world and we know that we’re going to die because of our spiritual state of sin and disobedience to God our Heavenly Father and Creator. Our earthly life had a beginning and it will have an end. Our undertakings start and then stop. So it is with our measurements of time. The year begins and it ends, as it will later this evening.

2. All of us being caught in the land of time need a timeless anchor and we have one in Jesus Christ. He’s risen from the dead and now ruling at the right hand of God in heaven. He’s eternal, unchanging, as is the Father with whom He is one. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Here in our Gospel lesson for this evening we can see that Jesus came into our realm of time to redeem us from the curse of sin and death. He became like one of us, taking on all our sicknesses and illnesses in order to bring us out of this fallen world that is full of despair. Jesus’ birth is one that is unique for all of human history as Matthew 18:18 states, “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.” This tells us a fact without even attempting to explain how it took place. It tells us that the eternal Son of God, the one who “Was with God in the beginning” as John 1:2 states and assumed human flesh and blood in the womb of the Virgin Mary, actually was born into our world.

3. Jesus the Son of God becoming a human being has great meaning for us today, even as we anxiously await the beginning of a New Year. Jesus’ birth shows that God intervened for all humanity to save us from the punishment that we deserve. Jesus God’s Son was destined to die even before He was born as the son of Mary and Joseph. This little baby held all of the power of the whole world in the palm of His tiny little hands and yet he probably couldn’t have lifted much of anything after He was born. He cried and played as you and I did when we were children and yet He was and is God’s Son. This is hard for us to imagine. Even though Christ died on the cross to save us from our sins, death itself couldn’t hold onto him. Some of you may have had loved ones that died this past year and you may be feeling the pain of knowing that you won’t see them again in this life. The holiday season can sometimes make us feel lonely and depressed because our loved ones are no longer with us. But, it’s through Jesus that we know that we’ll see our loved ones again for all eternity! We have hope and joy in Him and His glorious resurrection from the dead. Not even time and death can take hold of our Savior and Lord! Jesus Christ is the beginning, middle and end.

4. In Revelation 22:13 Jesus says—“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” By calling Himself the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and ending of the Greek alphabet, Jesus is also saying that He’s everything in between. He’s complete in that He’s the center of the Gospel of our redemption. How unending is His grace, His love for all sinners! Jesus Christ is the Beginning, Middle, and End—the total content of our faith.

5. As this new year begins a lot of people want to know what’s in store for them. Because of this some people may put a lot of stock in the vague projections of their horoscope. They may become fascinated by palm readers and they may marvel at the doubtful predictions of Nostradamus. But to those looking for a book that predicts future events accurately, the Bible has no equal. In Jesus we know our destinies and fate. We don’t have to worry about our deaths anymore. Jesus Christ has given to us our faith and has promised us the gift of eternal life through it. The Bible shows to us that this faith is true because it has made hundreds of predictions that have been fulfilled. One of the greatest reasons for accepting the divine origin of the Bible is the fact that all of God’s promises and prophecies came true. In fact, the best examples of biblical prophecy are the predictions concerning the coming of Christ.

6. The Bible tells us the time when Christ would come, the place of His birth, the family into which He would be born, the condition of that family at the time, as well as the reaction that He would get from his people. The Bible tells us how He would die and be buried, as well as His resurrection and ascension. In fact there were more than 20 Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled during the 24 hour period of Jesus' crucifixion. These were not "postdictions" (claims written after the events), but prophecies written down more than 400 years or more before they took place. Jesus really is the beginning, middle and the end—He shows this to us through His life story in the Bible itself and all of the prophecies that He fulfilled.

7. As Galatians 4:4-5 says, "But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us… so that he could adopt us as his very own children.” In the birth of Christ, God's timing was perfect, and so it continues to be. The plan of salvation that was promised for so long was given the flesh of a child. In one sudden and hoped for night, God was with us. As Hebrews 1:1-2 says, "Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. But now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son.” What amazing words! As it was foretold, so it has been fulfilled. Now in this New Year that approaches us God is still with us and He continues to speak to us through His Son Jesus Christ. We need not have any fear. Wars will not hurt us, the devil can’t harm us, even though this earth may be destroyed nothing can separate us from Jesus Christ our Savior. The unchanging one. He is the beginning, the middle and the end and our faith rests in Him.

8. Paraphrasing T.S. Eliot and applying his words to time, “The end of the year was inherent in its very beginning, for clocks and calendars don’t stop.” However, the end opens the door to a new beginning, to a new year. Before we begin the New Year, we thank God for His goodness to us in the past—for food and drink, and especially for His saving Word. The Word that reminds us that Jesus Christ became one of us to save us from our sins. His message is timeless and has spoken to so many generations within time. The message of Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross reminds us that we all have the promise of eternal life with Him in heaven. In Him there will be no more need to fear time and its hold on us. In Jesus everything will be new forever and ever and there will be no end. May this be so to you and to me. May His Word continue to remind you of this fact. “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

Sermon I preached on Christmas Eve, 2005

Christmas Through Mary's Eyes
Text: Luke 1:46–55

1. Grace mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This evening’s message comes from the Gospel of Luke 1:46-55 and is entitled “Christmas Through Mary’s Eyes.” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Have you every wondered where we get all the different customs that we observe each Christmas season? Well I have. Many of these customs come from different cultures that have celebrated the Winter Solstice on Dec. 21st for thousands of years. For instance, for hundreds of years before Christ, people had worshiped the sun. Many who lived in the northern hemisphere noticed a time of the year when the sun god seemed to forsake them. Each day was a little shorter than the other. They thought that the sun’s light would leave them completely. But in the end, the god always relented and the days gradually became longer. At this time of the season people of northern Europe kindled lights and fires to help the sun god relight his lamp. They feasted and rejoiced at the thought of another spring. This was also the season when the ancient Romans would honor Saturn, the god of agriculture, with their Saturnalia festival. It was a time for visiting friends, exchanging gifts and for feasting and dancing. The Persians lit fires at the winter solstice in praise of Mithra, god of light. The ancient Egyptians held a festival that honored Isis, mother of the sun god Horus. All of these midwinter festivals hailed the victory of light and life.

2. We would probably recognize the celebrations of many ancient cultures around the end of December, even if Jesus hadn't been born yet. Did you know that Christmas was officially celebrated on December 25th in the year 350 AD when Pope Julius I set the probable date for Jesus’ birth? Christians had celebrated Christ’s birth into this world before then, but they had celebrated it at different times. Christians in most places accepted December 25th as the date of Jesus’ birth , but some disliked it because it was so closely linked with other pagan holidays. All of these celebrations have something in common; they all deal with celebrating life and light. Isn’t that what we do each Christmas season? We celebrate the birth of Jesus, the light of the world and His coming to save us from the darkness of all our sins and from the power of death. Christmas may mean different things to many people, but ironically many cultures throughout the centuries have celebrated the fact that during this time of the year light was coming back into the world. The reason Jesus’ birth is so special is that it reminds all of us that we’ve been given the gift of eternal life through Him. In heaven we’ll have an eternal light, because of the light that radiates from Him. That’s why I love all of the bright Christmas lights that we see around us during the Christmas and Advent seasons because they remind us of Jesus Christ’s birth into this world and His eternal light that He brings.

3. Mary says in Luke 1:46-48: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed.” In many ways Mary is central to the Christmas story. This isn’t to say that she wants all of the attention put on her during this Christmas season. But what an honor and a joy it must have been for her to know that she was to conceive the Savior of the entire world! Can you imagine how she felt? She probably was scared at first, especially since she hadn’t formally married Joseph yet. The two of them were still engaged. In the eyes of the Jewish culture she was already married to Joseph, even though she wasn’t living in his home yet. She wasn’t supposed to have a child at this time and if the people found out about it she could have been stoned to death. Mary must have also known that many people would see that she was blessed at the fact that God had chosen her to be the mother of Jesus, the Son of God. When she says that she’s blessed she doesn’t mean that all nations are going to consider her to be the holiest of all creatures or that she’ll be the mediator between God and man. What she means is that all generations are going to praise God because of the marvelous way in which He has honored her. We can see from the beginning verse of Mary’s song that she had a strong faith and was well-grounded in the Scriptures.

4. In Luke 1: 49 Mary says, “For the Mighty One has done great things for me-- holy is his name.” Mary knew that Jesus would be mighty. She may have been reflecting on Psalm 71:19 which says, “Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God, you who have done great things. Who, O God, is like you?" She’s thinking about the fact that God has lifted her from her humble state and bestowed on her the highest honor conceivable to be the mother of the Messiah. But, Mary realizes that the blessing of Jesus wasn’t just being given to her. It was also being given to all people. To you and to me. What she has experienced all people will also experience. The light of all the world was coming into the world. Mary knew that Jesus was God in the flesh. What wonder and amazement that must have been for her.

5. Mary also realizes that Jesus would be holy. Saying that Jesus' name was holy was very significant in the Jewish culture. To say that God is holy means that He’s separate and set apart. It means that God is lifted up infinitely high above all creatures. He’s above us including above all of our sins. This is described for us very well in Isaiah 6:1-5 “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." There’s no doubt that Mary was conscious of her own sins and the fact that she was unworthy as Isaiah felt unworthy of bearing the Savior of the entire world, God Himself. Yet Mary knew that God was merciful and that He would make the world holy through His Son Jesus. Even today our world is craving for contact with something that’s powerful and just, someone that’s holy and that will cleanse us from all of our sinful deeds. You, I and Mary know that this powerful someone is none other than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

6. In Luke 1:50 Mary says, “His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.” Here we can see that Mary knew that Jesus would be merciful. That He wouldn’t give us what we deserve, eternal punishment in hell, but the gift of eternal life through His death on the cross and sacrifice for all of our sins. Sure, Mary didn’t know how God was going to save the people from their sins, but she did know that this child that was going to be born was to be the way in which God would save His people. Keep in mind that if it wasn't for God's mercy, we would still view Christmas in the same way that the ancient cultures did. Only as a temporary solution to the problems of darkness and death.

7. The world needs to remember that Jesus is the center and focus of the Christmas season. Without him there would be no reason for celebrating the season of Christmas. He’s the reason for the season. Mary knew this from the start when she sang her song of praise to God here in the first chapter of Luke. If Mary were to see the way that many people celebrate Christmas today, she'd probably lament that they've missed both her Son and the point of it all. This Christmas season we’ve heard the stories of companies such as Walmart & Home Depot not allowing their employees to say “Merry Christmas.” There are also schools that have violated the constitutional rights of kids. Here’s a story of what happened to some kids at a school in Plano, Texas. When the children attended Winter Break Parties—formerly known as Christmas Parties—they were warned not to put anything of a religious nature in goody bags to be shared with friends. Teachers didn't hesitate to confiscate items like candy canes attached to cards explaining the Christian "Legend of the Candy Cane." Parents who helped out at these Winter parties, were told not to bring red or green napkins. After all, these were the colors of Christmas! Nor could students pass out tickets to a popular Christmas pageant held every year at a local church. They were even forbidden to say "Merry Christmas" to their classmates.

8. What a sad a story this is and I’m sure that Mary herself would be saddened at the thought of having the very name of Christ taken out of Christmas. As great as many of those ancient festivals that occurred before the birth of Christ were, we don’t want to take Christ out of our celebration of Christmas. Those ancient festivals that the Persians, Egyptians, Europeans and Romans celebrated were only concerned about life in the here and now. In C.S. Lewis’ book, "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe,” there’s a part in the story where Lucy is talking to Mr. Tumnus the fawn. Mr. Tumnus says that it’s been winter for almost 100 years ever since the White Witch had taken over. Lucy says that it must be great since they could celebrate each day like it were Christmas. But, Mr. Tumnus reminds her that there hasn’t been a Christmas for over 100 years. Lucy couldn’t believe this. How sad our world would be if this were so. If we had winter all year round without the season of light amidst all of the darkness. What Mary is reminded of in her song of praise to God is that Christ came into this world as a little baby to give us the gift of eternal life and His eternal light. How great a joy it is to know for all of us that He’s given us this great hope. What a joy it is to know that we are able to celebrate Christmas in the same way Mary did through her song of praise. It’s through the Christmas story that we know that one day we’ll go to heaven, a place where there is no darkness, where it’s a season of light all year round, because God Himself is there giving off that light. May we all remember that Christ is the center of the Christmas season and may we spread that message to all that we come into contact with, both this Christmas Eve and for many days to come! AMEN.

A Sermon I preached on December 7th, 2005

“Focus on Jesus: The Preparation”

Scripture: Luke 1:57-67

1. Grace mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Today’s message is entitled “Focus on Jesus: The Preparation” and is taken from the Gospel of Luke 1:57-67. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ. My mother, Elaine Taggatz is a very good housekeeper. You could come to her house at any time and never find a thing out of place. There’s never a bed unmade or a dirty dish in the sink. You’d never find clothes on the floor or a dirty sock hiding under the bed! For my mother there’s a place for everything -- and everything in its place. When I lived at my parent’s house things often looked fine to me, as my mother is a great housekeeper. But I can still remember what it was like when she knew that company was coming. She brought out the broom, the mop and pail, sponges, window cleaner, bathroom cleaner, dust rags, and furniture polish (show these items). Then she called my two brothers and I together and assigned each of us the jobs that we were to do. When we were finished, my mom always checked to make sure that no speck of dirt or dust remained.
2. Can you imagine what it would have been like around our house if we’d been expecting a visit from a king? Well, that’s what I want to talk to you about this evening. A king is coming -- not just any king -- the King of Kings! Jesus Christ. That’s why the message today is entitled, “Focus on Jesus: The Preparation.” The Jews during the time of Jesus had waited a long time for the Messiah to come. In fact, it had been about 400 years between the last prophet Malachi and the coming of John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus who was coming into the world. But, really the Jews had been waiting longer than 400 years. They had been preparing for the coming of Jesus, since the Creation of the world when God promised Adam and Eve that their offspring would conquer Satan and the power of sin. God said in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
3. Now we’re entering into the story of John the Baptist and the events the occurred before his birth. God had prepared many of the people for the birth of this great Prophet of God. At John’s birth many people came to see what had happened. They found out that the prophecy had been true. Elizabeth had a son as the angel Gabriel had told her. When the neighbors saw how kind God had been to her they rejoiced. They were rejoicing because of the fulfillment of Gabriel’s prediction and they were joining with Elizabeth with the joy that her barrenness was no more. How long had Elizabeth waited for a son? Until she was of old age in the same way that Abraham and his wife Sarah had waited. The Bible doesn’t say how old Elizabeth was, but she could have been at least 50-70 years old. She had many years to prepare for her son John to come into the world. Now God had finally given her one.
4. But there was a problem. When John was born, the people wanted Elizabeth to name the child after the father, Zechariah. But, Elizabeth knew that this was not what God wanted. Luke tells us how this problem was solved in Luke 1:59-66 which says, “On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John." They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that name." Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John." Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.”
5. As you can see there was a lot of meaning behind these events. This passage from Luke is one of the earliest accounts for the Jewish practice of connecting the naming of a child with circumcision. But, there’s a problem here. There are no Biblical sources that show that there was a Jewish custom of naming a boy after his father. However, the mysterious events that had occurred with Zechariah’s vision in the temple and his losing the ability to speak may have brought them to wish that this young boy be named after his famous father. From Luke’s account we can see that God was doing many things in order to prepare the people for the coming of Jesus Christ. Here with the naming of John the Baptist we can see meaning behind his name. Elizabeth knew from the angel Gabriel that the boy was to be named John. She knew this because Zechariah had written it down for her after his experience with the vision in the temple. She asked him to respond for her using a tablet of paper. After all, he’d been told what the boy’s name was to be. It’s sort of humorous in the story to see that the people began asking Zechariah what the boy should be named using all sorts of signs. Zechariah had lost his speech, not his hearing. The people must have thought that since Zechariah couldn’t speak, he must also not be able to hear. But, this isn’t true. When Zechariah was in the temple the angel Gabriel told him that he would lose his ability to speak, but not his hearing. It must have been hard for him to hear all of this happening without the ability to tell the people what the baby’s name was to be called.
6. The events that occurred after Zechariah wrote down on a tablet the name “John” are miraculous and full of joy. I’m actually quite fond of the name John, since it happens to be my first name. Regardless of what I think, the meaning behind John’s name is important. Because it prepared the people for the coming of Jesus our Lord and Savior. The Christ child who was to be born to show all humanity the way to heaven through His suffering and death and through His glorious resurrection three days later. The name John means “God has been gracious.” This is ironic because John the Baptist preached a message of doom and gloom. “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near, turn from your wicked ways and come back to God.”” In the Bible the warning of judgment and doom is a necessary means to turn people away from the darkness of sin to the light of the Gospel. We as human beings need both Law & Gospel. This is why John’s name is so significant. He was sent to prepare the people through the use of God’s Law to show them that they were sinners in need of Savior. Today, he continues to prepare our hearts through the words that He spoke in the Bible so that we may see that God is gracious in giving us Jesus Christ to save us from our sins.
7. Here’s the best part of the story. After Zechariah named his son John his speech returned to him, the miracle of his healing was a sign from God. This child was destined by God to prepare the coming of the Christ Child. What did Zechariah do after he regained his speech? The answer’s simple. What anyone would do after they’ve been healed by God. He praises the Lord and uses his voice to prophecy about what his son would do. The people became afraid after they saw what was happening. This was a fear of reverence. A fear of the Lord as they saw that God’s presence was upon them. The people could see that God was preparing their hearts for something big. Much in the same way that my mother would try and prepare our house for the coming of a guest. God was preparing their hearts just as he prepares our hearts today. He did this in many ways before the birth of John the Baptist. God did it through Zechariah’s vision in the temple, his inability to speak after this experience, Mary’s visit to Elizabeth and the baby John jumping for joy in Elizabeth’s womb at the name of Jesus. The fact that a baby boy had been born as the angel Gabriel had foretold. The naming of the boy John and the immediate healing of speech given to Zechariah after he announced John’s name. Even Zechariah’s prophecy pointed to the importance of how God was preparing the people for something huge to happen.
8. Zechariah’s prophecy is one of my most favorite parts of Scripture. In his prophecy Zechariah says that Christ will shine His light upon all people who are in darkness and they will have joy. They will be enabled to live their lives for the Lord and serve Him all the rest of their days. This is what God asks and wants for us. Since He sent His Son Jesus to come down to this earth to save us from our sins, we’re now enabled to live our lives in service to Him. We’ve been called out of darkness and God has prepared a place for us in Heaven. He wants us to prepare for His Son’s return by reading the Bible daily, going to church as we are now, receiving the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper where we eat and drink Christ’s body and blood and receive the wonderful forgiveness of all of our sins. We’re no longer in despair and hopeless because of sin. We have a Savior who will lead us into the path of peace. We have the assurance of the forgiveness of sins. God continues to shelter us from the storms of life and give us a message of hope. May He continue to prepare our hearts this Advent Season for the time when we remember Jesus’ birth into this world. May He continually prepare us through His Word so that we may remember that He will once again in glory take all of us to live eternally in heaven with Him someday. This Advent season may we continue to Focus on Jesus and to prepare our hearts for Him—the coming of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings! AMEN.