Sermon Lent 5C April 6, 2025 Luke 20:9-19

Grace, mercy and peace are yours from God the Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

God asked a question in the OT reading: Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? God must ask that question because He desires that people perceive the salvation that he is preparing before the face of all people. To perceive God’s new thing is to believe and trust in His Son, the Savior Jesus. The parable in Luke 20 is all about God’s new work in Jesus, under this theme,

JESUS IS THE REJECTED, CRUCIFIED AND RISEN SAVIOR OF ALL PEOPLE

THIS IS THE LORD’S DOING AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES

            The events of the Gospel reading took place on Tuesday of Holy Week. Jesus enemies were asking more pointed questions and Jesus was giving more direct answers. Tension between Jesus and his enemies was increasing by the minute. Jesus wasn’t backing down and his enemies weren’t backing down either.

            The incarnation of the Eternal Son is the new thing that God was doing. The idea that God would enter human history in the flesh was a difficult thing for people to perceive. Jesus spoke very directly about God’s plan for Israel and for all people. But the more directly Jesus spoke the more they became hardened in their unbelief and pushed back at Jesus way of speaking. They pushed back to the extent that they plotted to kill him.

The parable of the tenants in the vineyard is a great example of direct speaking. This parable presents a short, concise history of Israel, and its rejection of prophet after prophet right up to the time of our text. Then Jesus takes it a couple days into the future, to his arrest, torture, and crucifixion. The people heard Jesus tell them what they were going to do to Him.  

            The story could hardly be clearer than this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. This was the history of Israel with God’s prophets in a very sad nutshell. Nobody was perceiving, trusting and believing. The new thing was now at hand.

JESUS IS THE REJECTED, CRUCIFIED AND RISEN SAVIOR OF ALL PEOPLE

THIS IS THE LORD’S DOING AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES

            The tenants in the vineyard were scribes and the chief priests along with their wicked kings. All of them should have known better. The servants of God, the prophets, should have been greeted with joy and expectation. The prophets came to collect the fruits of repentance, but they were greeted by men who did not perceive God as a merciful savior. All the words and ways that God had given them to tell them about the coming of the Savior were twisted and used for personal gain, and to hold power over the people. The vineyard of Israel was created to be the people from whom the Savior would come. The scribes and pharisees were supposed to be caretakers, preparing the people for Gods New Thing, Jesus. By treating the prophets shamefully, they treated God shamefully.

            Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” 

JESUS IS THE REJECTED, CRUCIFIED AND RISEN SAVIOR OF ALL PEOPLE

THIS IS THE LORD’S DOING AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES

            Jesus spoke of God the Father as the vineyard owner. God had been very patient with Israel. We could say that He was long-suffering. Of course, God knew the answer to the question, What shall I do. He asked the question to emphasize the new thing that he was about to do. The time had come to send His only begotten Son, to His vineyard to seek and to save the lost. The Son is the exact imprint of the image of God. The Son is to collect the fruits of repentance and receive all the praise that is due to God.

            But (Jesus) looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

            Jesus spoke to them directly. Then he looked at them directly while quoting from Psalm 118:22, a Messianic Psalm. The love of God in Christ Jesus is directed specifically at his greatest enemies. Jesus really cared for his enemies. He still does. He died for all people including the actual ones who rejected him and crucified him. After he spoke the parable, Jesus made it clear that the new thing God was doing was happening right then. There is no other thing that would happen. Just two days later, God’s love for humanity would be convincingly shown.

The Cross of Jesus is the final, direct way God has spoken. He spoke directly to His people of old by His prophets. Now he speaks to us by His Son, His cross and resurrection. The Word of Christ meets failure to perceive and hardened unbelief in our day and time as well. You see it every day in media, and even in friends and family. Still, the Cross of Christ remains God's direct means of saving everyone.

God has done His new thing His New Israel, the church of Jesus. He desires to be first and foremost in your thoughts. He knows that you sin daily, accidentally and on purpose, and accidentally on purpose. Yet, he continually gives you the gift of repentance, calling you back through His Word. You perceive this through faith, that is, you believe and trust in Jesus always.

            God’s convincing act of love for all of humanity is the cross of Jesus Christ. All people are born enemies of God, lost and dead in sin. All people needed the new thing that Jesus finished by his sacrificial death. Your sins are forgiven. Christ Jesus has risen from the dead and has made you his own. Life and salvation are yours. Because,

JESUS IS THE REJECTED, CRUCIFIED AND RISEN SAVIOR OF ALL PEOPLE

THIS IS THE LORD’S DOING AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES

Amen.

The peace that surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen.  

Sermon Advent 1C

December 1, 2024

Luke 19:28-40

John E. Wackler

Grace, mercy, and peace are yours from God the Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

A while back, I anticipated going to a concert for about two months. I bought tickets as soon as they were available. And then I got busy and it went to the back of my mind until a couple weeks before. And then the anticipation really built. Would they be as good as I though? Yes, they were. They even exceeded expectations. I really didn't want it to end.

WE JOYOUSLY ANTICIPATE THE SAVIOR FROM SIN

WHO ARRIVES AS A HUMBLE SERVANT KING

Right now, we are all anticipating Christmas. Decorations are out. Christmas music is already being played constantly. Shopping and planning for gatherings are underway or complete. Even though we eagerly anticipate Christmas, and enjoy it when it comes, the season is hectic, and often stressful for many people. There is also the possibility that we may become disillusioned with the frantic pace and commercialization of the Christmas Season.

So, in the hustle and bustle, let's not forget about Advent. We'll have Wednesday night sanctuaries from the hubbub. Let's enjoy this first season of the church year for what it really is, the joyful anticipation of the coming of the Savior from sin, Jesus of Nazareth.

God's people of Old had been anticipating the coming of Messiah for several thousand years. There was only a handful of people faithfully waiting. It had been a long time. Would the Savior even come? The prophets foretold, and Israel had not been waiting very patiently. They had been seeking false gods and gave and a babe born in a manger was not even on their radar.

The truth is, the Israelites had the word of God about the Savior to come, even though they were impatient. Listen to God's Word from Jeremiah in our OT reading for today, “I will cause a righteous branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah and Jerusalem will dwell securely.”

Jeremiah is telling us what the Savior would come to do, and what the result of his work would be. The righteous branch is Jesus. Jesus established justice and righteousness by willingly going to the cross to give himself into death for the sins of the world. Justice, punishment for sin, was placed on Jesus instead of on us.

The Gospel for this First Sunday in Advent is the account of an event that happened just one week before Easter. It may seem strange that we're reading about this event during Advent instead of Easter. What is this account saying to us about Advent? How do we seek real sanctuary during the mad rush that has become the world's Christmas season.

WE JOYOUSLY ANTICIPATE THE SAVIOR FROM SIN

WHO ARRIVES AS A HUMBLE SERVANT KING

We have to really concentrate hard to stay focused on Advent, and repentance, when the world around us has already rushed headlong into Christmas. The world will miss most of the preparation that the church tries to provide, as we anticipate the coming of the Christ child, and as we wait for the celebration of the birth of the Savior. We also need to be careful not to allow the crass commercialization of the Christmas season to rob it of it's holiness. Maybe you can identify with that possibility. Is there time to reflect and ponder the true wonder of this Advent season?

Advent takes us back to the Old Testament - the time before our savior was born. God's faithful people yearned for deliverance from the oppressive slavery of sin. They knew spiritual darkness and the shadow of death as they waited for Messiah - the savior. He would carry them out of the valley of the shadow of death and despair. (Our sermon hymn places us in unity with our fellow believers of the OT when we sang with them, "O come, O come Immanuel and ransom captive Israel.")

Advent shines the light of Christ into the darkness of our human sinfulness and despair. It causes the excited anticipation of rescue from sin, death, and Satan. Let it also remind us, like Lent does, that the shedding of blood is necessary for the forgiveness of sins.

Advent points us to the perfect Babe of Bethlehem, Jesus. It reminds us that all the OT sacrifices pointed to the once for all sacrifice of Christ, the sinless Lamb of God, for sin. We reflect on the fact that we desperately need God to come into this world to rescue us. We repent of our sins in anticipation of the deliverance guaranteed to Adam and Eve with the promise of a Savior, continued with the birth of the King of Kings in Bethlehem, finished at Calvary, and the empty tomb in Joseph's garden.

The Son of God became the Son of Man in order to save us from our sin. His love for us sinners placed Jesus in the manger and that same love sent Jesus to the cross. His immaculate conception and miraculous birth in human flesh were the first historic steps on the road to that cross. His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem started his final journey towards the ultimate purpose for his coming.

WE JOYOUSLY ANTICIPATE THE SAVIOR FROM SIN

WHO ARRIVES AS A HUMBLE SERVANT KING

To sinful people, waiting can be a real pain in the neck. If waiting goes on too long, we might lose interest and move on. We want what we want and we want it now! It's hard to patiently wait, even when we know the end result is going to be good, even great. Remember this though, everything happens in God's own timing. We can relax, and wait patiently, trusting that God's promise will be fulfilled. We can receive the holiness and preparation of Advent, while anticipating Christmas with abiding joy.

In the Gospel reading, the Pharisees did not like the people praising Jesus as they were doing. They demanded of Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Nothing will stop Jesus from completing his work. And nothing will stop his believers from praising Him. Life will enter stones and they will cry out. Nothing would stand in the way of Jesus preaching, and teaching and speaking the truth about sinful man, and about himself during the upcoming week.

The timeless historical account of the shepherds in the fields, and the angels singing “Glory to God in the Highest” has endured among us even though many enemies of Christ have declared this truth to be a fable, a myth. There is open hostility towards the magnificent story of redemption, and towards those who believe God's Word and trust in Jesus.

Nothing will stand in the way of the Truth of Jesus. The Word of God will endure against all foes. The Word of God concerning your Savior Jesus, is universal truth. It is something very specific, and it does something very specific. It creates saving faith as it is heard, believed, trusted.

We do anticipate Christmas with great joy. We also anticipate the second time Jesus will come with just the same amount of joy and even greater peace. The “finer day” that we seek after is guaranteed to us through faith in Him who came in the glory of the Lord, was crucified, died, rose from the dead, and lives forever. This is God's certain promise to us. Most of His promise has been fulfilled. The rest will be fulfilled. Anticipate, Rejoice, Your Savior Comes. Amen.

The peace that surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Sermon Pentecost 3B June 9, 2024 Mark 3:20-35

Grace, mercy and peace are yours from God the Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  

During the Civil War of the 1860's, President Lincoln gave a speech that many historians call The House Divided speech. Lincoln’s main idea for that speech came from the Gospel reading for today. The nation he presided over was severely divided. Would it remain divided and fall, or would it stand? Jesus said; If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

When thinking of these types of issues, I am reminded of the hymn, God of Grace and God of Glory, verse 3. Cure your children’s warring madness, bend our wills to your control. Shame our wanton selfish gladness, rich in things and poor in soul. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, lest we miss your kingdom’s goal. Sadly, the sinful nature is humanity’s inborn condition. We always fighting against each other. We are always resisting the love of God, and denying the Creator who made us.

In the Gospel reading, we find that there is a sort of civil war going on between Jesus and the pharisees. They resisted his person and rejected his love. Yet he continued to love his enemies.    

In the Genesis reading we see the aftermath of the fall into sin. Eve had believed the lie of the serpent, "Did God really say not to eat the fruit?" Yes, God did, say that, Eve acknowledged. But the serpent told her that God had lied about death and was trying to keep her and Adam from becoming like him. Eve took and she ate, and… Adam failed to protect his wife. He ate too. The Bible reveals many times that Adam gets the credit for the fall into sin and the reign of death. And here we are. And I am glad. God showed mercy to Adam and Eve through the promise of a savior, the son of Eve/Mary, who would lastingly defeat the Serpent by bruising the head of the serpent and his offspring. We live within the consequences of the fall. But as Paul says in the Epistle, it is a light, momentary affliction. Doesn’t seem like it at times, but we must trust the Word of God, because we also live within the promises of God in the Savior of the world, Jesus. 

The Pharisees had everything backwards. The unforgivable sin is to actively reject God's whole plan of salvation, which was announced to the serpent, Eve and Adam just after Adam's rebellion. The plan was that the Christ should suffer, die, and rise from the dead, and that forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name beginning at Jerusalem. In the Garden of Eden, God promised that the Seed of woman would crush the evil serpent's head. Jesus came to do just that. He conquered sin, Satan and death by his cross and resurrection, a thing the world finds to be backwards and offensive.

But it is the worldly who have everything backwards. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld delivered the commencement address at Duke University a couple weeks ago. Many students walked out simply because Seinfeld is Jewish. That was a good illustration of the idea of a house divided. I enjoyed listening to the speech, and I even read the transcript so I could quote from it. One of the wise things he said was; My point is, we’re embarrassed about things we should be proud of and proud of things we should be embarrassed about.

This particular month that is quite the thing to say. And I think it’s right in many ways. In another graduation speech a football kicker had the gall to stand up for true marriage as a good thing, as God's beautiful design for humanity. These thoughts and opinions, and the reactions to them, starkly illustrate the divided house we will inhabit until Jesus returns. Isaiah 5:20 has this little nugget of warning for us; Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! In those two graduation speeches, the true wisdom of the house of God, the house of light, was revealed.

The world insists that Christians be open minded towards all the garbage that our society and the world is spewing. However, the world is not about to be open minded towards the things of God in Christ Jesus. The world in fact is totally close-minded to the Word of Christ. The house is divided.

Jesus proved that he was God’s Sent One by healing people, controlling the weather, feeding people miraculously, by raising some from the dead, and by driving out many demons. This was evidence that he was God, and a preview of what his cross would accomplish for all people, forgiveness and eternal life. That is the one and only plan of salvation that saves mankind. 

Our sinful flesh and every act of disobedience we do declare that we deserve to be in the house of darkness and death. We are all conceived and born as God’s enemies, turned away from him and full of sin. We all need Jesus' Baptism to drive the devil out of us and for Jesus to take up residence. 

God’s whole plan was that we would not remain in the darkness of our sin. He wants us to be with him forever. Jesus Christ came into the world as one of us and has rescued us out of the darkness of the house of Satan. There is no compromise position to take. We cannot compromise with Satan or with the world.

You are in God’s house of light. He is not divided against himself. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in agreement perfectly. The water and the blood agree. Fed by Holy Communion, and Baptized into the Triune name of God, you have been rescued from the house of darkness and have entered His marvelous light. God commands you and enables you to remain in His house forever. In His house, you find forgiveness, life and joy in Jesus. Do not lose heart. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. Amen.  

The peace that surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen.

Sermon Pentecost 2B June 2, 2024 Mark 2:23-28 J. Wackler

Grace, mercy, and peace are yours from God the Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The title of the sermon today is related to the OT reading where the Third Commandment is given; Observe (You shall remember) the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Within that text is also this other command, You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.

           For today’s sermon title, I have shortened that command to You shall remember. There are four things to remember. 1. You were a slave to sin. (You shall remember that..) 2. God saved you by his mighty and outstretched arm. (You shall remember that..) 3. Remember the Sabbath. (You shall remember that..) 4. It’s good to be a slave of Jesus. 

           (You shall remember that..) You were a slave to sin. There are many ways to be a slave to sin. You can be a slave to one or more of many addictions. You can be a slave to your job, a slave to your own evil desires, whatever that may be. We pretty much agree as a culture that owning another person, slavery is not good. Being a slave owner is not good. Our nation endured a war to end slavery.   

However, by many current accounts, slavery is flourishing all over the world right now. At the 2016 LCMS Youth Gathering I had a long conversation with the leader of the band Remedy Drive about his work in southeast Asia. He went undercover to rescue primarily young girls who had been sold into slavery. There are stories and videos on their web site, which is listed in the bulletin.

           Shocking! Yes. Disgusting! Definitely. But this information serves to uncover the darkness lurking in all people in a painfully immediate way. We were all slaves to sin, born enemies of God. All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. To be a slave to sin is to be helpless to change your status as slave to sin. We needed to be rescued out of that slavery to sin or we would have died in it.

           According to the Remedy Drive website, 901 young slave girls have been rescued through the efforts of Remedy Drive, operation Exodus Road and cooperating law enforcement agencies in southeast Asia. Without that rescue, I don’t want to think of what would happen to them. I don’t want to think about what would happen if God had not provided a rescue for the sinner, for you and for me.

           (You shall remember that..) God saved you by his mighty and outstretched arm. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The glory of God is Jesus Christ crucified for sinners. Yes our sinfulness was so bad that the sacrificial death of the only begotten Son of God was necessary to break the bond of slavery to sin that we were in. It was at a huge cost in humiliation, pain and suffering when the Lord of Life gave His life for the life of the world. He willingly received the punishment and death that you deserved. This act of love broke the bond that held you in slavery to sin. 

           (You shall) Remember the Sabbath. All of the commandments are given by God out of love for his fallen people. These commandments curb violent outbursts of sin, and keep order in the world. They show us our sin and our need for a Savior. They guide us into Christian living. The first three have to do with our relationship with God. These were given so that we can remember who we belong to, and it’s not some generic god concept. We belong to the One True God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is our Creator. Our salvation and the forgiveness of sins is dependent upon the actions of the Holy Trinity in time for us. You shall have no other gods because there is only one true god, and the main false god is self.

           We remember or observe the Sabbath because it is a gift of God to us for our benefit. Theologian and pastor, Theodore Buls has written this; The Sabbath was an Old Testament (look forward to) everlasting life through Jesus Christ. The (3rd commandment) of rest on the Sabbath was a sign between God and the Covenant people (the Jews). The observance of the Sabbath was a matter of physical and spiritual blessing. It pointed to the God of promise, Jesus Christ, who gives rest now and forever. Jesus is the author of the New Testament. (Jesus had the authority to fulfill) the Sabbath, the sacrifices, the Temple, (which pointed to Jesus, but were) all mere shadows of Himself. But He never violated the Sabbath Day. He put Himself under the Law. He redeemed all those under the Law. At the same time He was Lord even of the Law.

            Because Jesus died and rose from the dead, Christians are free to worship whenever we want, but Sunday has become the primary day of Christian worship because Jesus rose on the first day of the week. We also understand Sunday as the eighth day, which symbolizes eternity. Christian worship is God serving us with his gifts of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.

           (You shall remember that..) It’s good to be a slave of Jesus. Romans 6:22 says, But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. Because you are a slave of Jesus, you receive a life made holy by his blood, shed on the cross. In that sense, you get to live a Christian life of love towards God, and of service to your neighbor. Love of God is faith in Jesus the rescuer. Love of neighbor is lived out in so many ways through vocation, through refraining from doing harm to neighbor, and through acts of kindness and sacrifice that benefit and serve the neighbor. The world can be a formidable place, but even when it is at it’s worst, remember that Christ has conquered sin, death and Satan. That battle is over, and now we live in anticipation of the goal of history, the return of Jesus.  

           You shall remember that Jesus fulfilled his love for you, his neighbor, perfectly when he laid down his life at the cross for you. Because he did that, you have been rescued from sin, death, and Satan, and given the gifts of forgiveness, salvation, and life eternal for Jesus' sake. You shall remember your Baptism, when you were joined to the death and resurrection of Jesus. You shall remember God’s mighty saving work in Jesus. Amen

The peace that surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen.

Sermon May 26, 2024

How do you know that you are going to heaven? Isaiah had a moment of fear when he realized that he stood before Almighty God. He said; “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” He was uncertain of his place before God, and he was afraid. But when the coal touched his lips the seraph said “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” Sins forgiven, Isaiah knew that he could stand before God and serve him with joy.

Last Sunday at the centennial celebration service for the OK District, LCMS President Harrison related a story; He was visiting a parishioner on his death bed, a man who was a lifelong Lutheran. He confessed to Rev. Harrison that he was not sure he was going to heaven. Rev. Harrison said that he wanted to throttle him, because the man should have been absolutely sure of his place in heaven. Hadn’t he heard what his pastor had been saying all this time? Instead of anger though, Rev. Harrison gently reminded him of Gods promises in Christ Jesus, as any pastor would in that situation.

I have encountered this in my ministry as well. And the best approach is to gently teach and strongly assure someone of God’s promises in Christ Jesus, through the use of God’s own Word. Even though we may waver in our faith at times, God is faithful and keeps his promises made in Holy Baptism.

           This type of death bed situation is a little bit like what Jesus encountered with Nicodemus. Only Jesus was not gentle with Nicodemus because Nicodemus was not on his death bed. Nicodemus was alive and well and a teacher of Israel. Nicodemus had the responsibility to study, understand, believe, and teach God’s word rightly. Jesus said; “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 

           So we see here that Nicodemus was resistant to the truth that Jesus was speaking, even though he had come to Jesus in the first place. Like Luther said; I contribute two things to my salvation, sin and resistance. It is our sinful nature to resist God’s grace in Christ Jesus. It is our sinful nature to resist Gods love and His Word. It is in our sinful nature to desire to kill the Lord of Life, as Peter convicted his hearers of in the Acts reading.

           Nicodemus had approached Jesus with a question on behalf of the other Pharisees; “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Let’s just call that a “feeler” question. Nicodemus was supposed to gather information to use to entrap Jesus, so they could arrest him and kill him. But Jesus was not having any of that. In fact, Jesus did not even answer the question directly. 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” I wonder about the look on Nicodemus’ face. Consternation, confusion?

Certainly he was caught off guard by the abrupt change of topic. Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” That seems like a logical question. How could that even work? But Jesus was leading him towards a correct understanding of how God gathers people in so that they will know for sure that heaven is theirs.

5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Now we know that Jesus is speaking of Baptism. But we also know that lots of people resist the correct teaching concerning baptism. In doing that, they give up the assurance God wants them to have, or they base their assurance on their own actions or commitments, which is no assurance at all.

All of our children have left and gone to other places, as I did many years ago. Even after I was married, for quite a while, when we would visit my parents in Ardmore, I said I was going home. Home was where my parents were. Now, home for our children is where my wife and I are, though that is changing as I speak. But no matter what, as time moves on, they will come to see us because they belong to us. Our family is home whenever and wherever we are together.

My great professor Peter Scaer at seminary has written, If they’re old enough to be in your family, they’re old enough to be in God’s family. I think that is a comment on the next verses of John 3. What is being said here is that infant baptism is the accepted and regular baptismal practice of the church from the mouth of Jesus himself. We all know that babies immediately and innately know and have the assurance of who they belong to. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ You did not cause yourself to be born of your mother, and you did not cause yourself to be born again in Baptism either.

Baptism imparts to you, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You are taken into the Fathers family. This is where you belong, and where you are destined to be eternally. Where the Triune God is, your home is. The Holy Spirit comes to make his home within you. He does not want to leave. He wants to reside in your heart always, giving you the assurance and comfort that you can cling to on your deathbed.

           The Gospel text for today contains the most famous verse in the Bible, John 3:16. That’s well and good. But 3:17 nails it down in the assurance department. Are you in the world? Jesus died for you in order that you would be saved. He baptized you in order that you would have the death bed confidence, assurance and comfort that you belong with Him forevermore. Amen

The peace that surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.