Here's the sermon preached yesterday. I made an effort to consider both the Confession of Peter and Life Sunday.
Pr. Ron Rock Zion, Beecher, IL +++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++ Confession of Peter / Life Sunday Sun. & Wed., January 18 & 21, 2009 Zion Lutheran Church, Beecher, IL Sermon Text - Mark 8:27-9:1 First Reading - Acts 4:8-13 Epistle Reading - 2 Peter 1:1-15 Gospel Reading - Mark 8:27-9:1 Sources for Statistics: http://www.fightfoca.com/ and http://www.lutheransforlife.org/ In the name of Jesus. [Amen] The sermon for today is based on the Gospel reading just read. Dear friends in Christ Jesus, Was it difficult ? Did you feel like a hypocrite? We just sang Lift High the Cross and within it, we spoke of:" following where our Captain trod" in verse one. In verse two, we sang describing ourselves , as being "led by the cross" on the paths of life. And using the refrain, we underscored every stanza by saying that we would "proclaim the love of Christ" until the end of time. But again, I ask you, how difficult was it for you to sing that? I'll tell you what we'll get back to that question in a few minutes. Today, during the course of this service, we're considering two different but, I think related events. January 18th is known throughout most of Christendom as the day to commemorate the Apostle Peter's confession of Christ. You heard his confession during the Gospel reading. Jesus asked His disciples: "Who do people say that I am?" They told Him that some said that Jesus was the murdered John the Baptist now come back from the dead. Others claimed that Jesus was Elijah and so on. Jesus asked the question again, but this time with a slightly different twist This time He asked: "But who do you say that I am?" Peter chirped up for all of them: "You are the Christ." This, of course, is what the Church calls "Peter's Confession of Christ" for with those four wonderful words, Peter "confesses" the truth that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah sent by God to fulfill that promise first given by God to Adam and Eve following their fall into sin and death. The Church rejoices in that Confession, because later, in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus tells us what the glorious result is for anyone who "confesses" Jesus: "Whosoever confesses me before men, him will I confess also before my Father in heaven. 33But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father in heaven." (Mt. 10:32-33, KJV) And that's why to this day we rejoice when anyone young or old makes a public confession of Jesus as the Christ of God. For it's "in Him that we live and move and have our very being." (Acts 17:28, ESV) And as we heard in our first reading "Salvation" from sin and death is found "in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12, ESV) In other words, all who are saved, are saved only through faith in the work and merits of Jesus Christ who died and rose for the sins of all! But, you heard what happened shortly and I mean very shortly after Peter made that great confession. Following that, Jesus began to explain that the way of salvation would be very difficult. He explained that for salvation for mankind to be acquired, that He "must " "must" be "rejected" and "killed." But Peter chose to engage his human wisdom on the matter. And with that choice, Peter goes from being the "great confessor " to being the "great denier!" One minute Peter is boldly saying that Jesus is the Messiah and the next moment Peter has the audacity to tell Jesus what He can and cannot do! Jesus cut off Peter's speech and told him the other disciples and He tells us "Get behind me Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." And how is it with you ? Getting back to the question that I posed for us a few minutes ago How difficult is it for you to always "Lift High the Cross" of Jesus Christ? Do you always willingly "follow where your Captain trod " or do you find yourself on detours of your making detours that seem to be less difficult with less suffering detours on which Jesus and His will are not to be found. Is your life "led by the cross " or is it led by human wisdom wisdom that tells you that it's OK to pick and choose which elements of God's Word it is that you'll follow? Overall do you find that your thinking is sometimes formed by "things of men" instead of by "things of God?" That gets us to the second event that we're also observing today. Today, along with many Christians, we're also observing what's known as "Life Sunday." Life Sunday is that Sunday closest to that infamous day of January 22nd, 1973 when the Supreme Court ruled that by and large abortions would no longer be illegal. "Things of men " that is, warped thinking informed by Satan made it legally possible to kill children in their mothers' womb that place that should be the safest place in which they'd ever be. According to the Lutherans for Life organization and conservatively speaking approximately 3,500 abortions are committed each day of the year. To give us perspective, the Village of Beecher has approximately 4,100 residents. Think of it each day across our nation, the equivalent of 85% of all the residents of Beecher being killed and their deaths are completely legal! In a few minutes, we'll sing a hymn that's often one of the first hymns that a child learns: Jesus Loves Me. Again think of it 1 million, 300 thousand children each year will never be permitted to be born to receive Baptism to learn and sing that song that speaks the Gospel so simply and clearly. How we'd love to hear their voices sing Jesus loves me! This I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong; They are weak, but He is strong. Jesus loves me! He who died, heaven's gate is open wide. He has washed away my sin. Lets His little child come in. Those "weak" children dependent upon adults to protect them aren't permitted to be born because they represent - in the thinking of man - they represent difficulty and suffering for the again so-called adult. Ironically the baby is the main "player" in the matter and even though it's his body that would die he's given no voice and no choice. God calls us, His people, to speak for those who have no voice. This is a way of confessing the faith. In Proverbs 31 we find what our Lord calls us to do: "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. 9Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." (Prov. 31:8-9, NIV) Many of you might remember a handout that we made available to you just before last November's election. The handout described the position of each Presidential candidate toward abortion and life. At the time, I urged us all to have "the things of God" in mind that is life when casting one's ballot. By now, we're all acutely aware that the candidate who was elected is an avowed friend of pro-abortion causes. He was quoted last summer describing a child as a "punishment " rather than the gift of God that life is. He's gone on record saying that one of the first things that he hopes to do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. In case you don't know, that pending federal legislation would do away with state laws on parental involvement when their child is pregnant and is seeking medical advice. It would also negate any state laws that prohibit the barbarian practice of partial birth abortion. It would compel taxpayer funding of abortions. (Yes, our tax dollars used to kill children.) Even faith-based hospitals would be forced to offer abortions as part of their services! Think of it with all the problems that our country is facing the new administration has for one of its top priorities the signing of legislation that will make it easier to carry out still more abortions than we already have! We live in a culture of death. Somehow a pro-abortion person heard about my comments and the handout last fall. The person indicated they'd reported me to the IRS, with the request that they investigate me. They openly stated that they hoped that our church would lose its tax-exempt status. All that gave me the opportunity to exchange a number of email letters with the pro-abortion person as I "spoke up for those who cannot speak for themselves." I spent one entire evening carefully choosing my words to this pro-abortion person knowing that God had given me the opportunity to tell them of life that it's a gift of God and NOT a "punishment" and that death is never the answer. Finally, after about four exchanges of email, the person told me to no longer write to them saying: "I don't need to be saved!" We can only hope and pray that the Word of God that I communicated to them will someday take root and sprout in repentance and faith. So far nothing more has come of it. The IRS agents haven't come to break down our door. But if they do, then we would be suffering for "the things of God." As Jesus said: "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?" We would have lifted high the cross of Jesus Christ speaking and doing what He calls us to do and suffering the consequences for the sake of the Gospel and the Lord of Life. All of us are like Peter. We imperfectly hold the faith given to us sometimes cowering in fear unable or perhaps unwilling to take a stand for what's right and proper. Whatever is in your past know that in Christ what you've done wrong is made right. Perhaps a fear of an economic depression and what that might mean to you personally caused you to ignore God's call to trust in Him above all things. Perhaps you've had a golden opportunity to "speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves " but out of fear of being ridiculed or being told not to meddle in someone else's life you kept quiet. Perhaps you've had personal involvement in things that didn't honor life Whatever it is dear beloved of God hear my words There is not one thing for which forgiveness has not already been earned by Jesus on the blessed cross. All all all sins have been punished in Jesus. We receive forgiveness for our sins through repentance and faith in Him. The simple children's hymn tells us: Jesus loves me! He who died, heaven's gate is open wide. He has washed away my sin. Lets His little child come in. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so. Whatever is in your past Christ has "washed away" your sin. Your punishment is done and "heaven's gate is open wide" for you! Now come, Christians and in faith follow where our Captain trod as we confess Christ and proclaim His gospel of life to all the world! In His name. Amen. May the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. 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