Thursday, September 21, 2017

Chapel Sermon: The Second Article of the Creed, September 21, 2017

A sermon preached by Pastor Lewis Polzin on September 21, 2017 for the Thursday Chapel of St. Peter–Immanuel Lutheran School in Milwaukee, WI, on The Second Article of the Creed. You may read the text and play the audio of the sermon here.



Acts 2:29-41
“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. 

Hebrews 1:1-4
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. 

Luke 1:26-33
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 


Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

The text this morning is from the Apostles’ Creed in the Small Catechism:
The Second Article
Redemption
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

What does this mean?
Answer: I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord. He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil. He did this not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, so that I may be His own, live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.
Thus far the text.

My dear friends in Christ,
     Our Lord Jesus Christ is so amazing and has revealed Himself to us in such a way that there is no question as to how we should respond to Him.  Last week, we talked about the idea that we give God the glory.  We give God glory because He has created us and all creatures.  More than that, He continues to give us that which we need daily.  Your God and Lord is involved in your life, so much so that you could not even take a breath without His wishing it.  You need your God and He gives everything to you, so for that we give God the glory.

     But He does give to all people all things.  The Scriptures tell us that God gives needed rain both to the believer and the unbeliever.  Everyone receives that which is good from God.  Yet, God has done one other thing, one thing that you can only receive, you can only get, if you do not reject it, and that’s the death and resurrection of Jesus which forgives your sins.

     Now, Christ most assuredly died for all; He did.  He died so that everyone in the entire world could be forgiven.  He died to forgive everyone their sins.  However, sadly, for some reason or another, many people, maybe even most people, reject Jesus and His gifts and will turn away from Him, thinking they can be good enough on their own.

     If your mom and dad decided one Christmas to get you a bike, or a video game, or whatever it is that you really wanted, and then they did, what would your reaction be?  Would you say, Thank you, but I think I want to do it myself?  Would you say, Thank you, but I hate you so I don’t want it at all?  Would you say, Thank you, but you know what, I don’t think I want it after all?  No, of course not!  Wouldn’t you just thank them, hug them, love it, play with it?  Wouldn’t you do everything you ever wanted to do with it?

     So it is with God.  Through Christ, God has given you salvation, the greatest gift in the world.  It’s amazing.  But, when He gives it to you by grace through faith, when He gives you Jesus’ salvation through Baptism, are you going to say to Him, Thank you, but I think I want to save myself?  Would you say, Thank you, but I hate you so I don’t want to be saved at all?  Would you say, Thank you, but you know what, I don’t think I want salvation after all?  No, of course not!

     What should your response be?  It is to love the Lord who came to die for you!  It is to thank Him, pray to Him, praise Him, give Him the glory for the greatest gift ever.  You see, as a sinner, as someone who does the wrong things sometimes, we don’t deserve the gifts that God gives us.  But because He loves you, He gives you everything, and the most important thing.  He gives you Jesus.

     And He gives you one more thing: He gives you a promise.  When Jesus died, it won for you the forgiveness of sins.  But when He rose from the dead, it gave you the promise that, if you believe in Christ, if you trust Him for salvation, for forgiveness, you will be raised from the dead as well.  The Lord wants you to be with Him forever, so He promised you forgiveness which leads to you coming back from the dead.

     He is amazing, and this is the most amazing gift you could ever receive.  What could be better than to live forever in perfect peace and harmony, to have perfect love, to see Jesus face-to-face.  I can promise you, if you trust Christ to forgive you, if you will receive the gift He’s giving to you, you will have it forever.  And you can find it right here at SPI.  You can find it now, you can find it every day.  Jesus is for you and loves you.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

     Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord!  Amen.x

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