"The Kingdom of God Is at Hand"
The sermon for the First SUNDAY in LENT respectfully submitted to the people
of God by--
Rev. Kurt Hering, Pastor.
Trinity Lutheran Church
Layton, Utah
To listen to this sermon as preached today, March 1, 2009 at Trinity, click
on this link:
http://www.lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=1211
The recording begins with the Hymn of the Day, "A Mighty Fortress." The
sermon begins at the 3:25 mark.
Have a blessed week in the Kingdom of God.
Your servant of the Word,
Pastor Hering
Here is the preaching manuscript:
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from His Son, our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The text for our sermon today is the Holy Gospel lesson, Mark 1:9-15
Dear people of God,
Hear the Word of the Lord from the lips of His only begotten Son, in whom He
is well pleased, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the gospel."
How good of news is that? It just doesn't get any better than this, does it?
Can it?
Well the first part anyway. "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God
is at hand."
But I don't know about that second part. "Repent and believe in the gospel."
Trouble is, they go together because the kingdom of God that is at hand, the
kingdom that comes at the right hand of the Father, that is Jesus Christ, is
all about repentance and belief--faith. It is all about turning away from
faith in the things of this world-faith in ourselves and what we do-and
turning to faith in the things of God-faith in Christ and what He has done
and continues to do.
Our Gospel for today presents a summary of the life of Christ-who He is,
what He has done, and what He continues to do. And since your life, dear
baptized, is in Christ alone as you have been buried into His death and
raised to new life with Him at the right hand of the Father, our Gospel for
today also presents a summary of your life, the life of the follower of
Christ--the Christian.
It starts with Baptism where we find out who this Jesus is.
9In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John
in the Jordan. 10And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw
the heavens opening and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a
voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well
pleased."
Jesus is the Son of God, pleasing to Him in all things-that is, in this One
God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven.
So too, in Holy Baptism, the Christian finds out who he is-a forgiven
sinner, who is now an adopted son of God, pleasing to Him in all things for
Christ's sake and through God's will is also now done on earth as it is in
heaven.
Sounds pretty good so far, right? But why, if you are a Son of God who is
pleasing to Him in all things, do you suffer so? It doesn't make sense, does
it?
The trouble, of course, is that for a time, like Christ, we all must remain
in this world doing the will of the Father in order to bring His kingdom to
others by bringing other sinners to repentance. Look what that meant for
Jesus:
12The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13And he
was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with
the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.
This not just about 40 calendar days in the life of Jesus either. It is a
summary of His entire earthly ministry, His journey into death that would
take Him into the grave-and out again.
And isn't that your life also. Dear baptized?
No wonder our Lord teaches us to pray, "lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from evil." There is temptation out there (for Christ and us) and
He wants us to know it is not of Him but of the devil, and He will deliver
us from it just as He delivered His Christ from it. His Christ, His Son,
true God Himself set aside his godliness and lived the perfect life of faith
for us to the point of enduring the cross and entrusting Himself into the
loving hands of the Father.
14Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the
gospel of God, 15and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God
is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.
After the preaching of John the Baptizer is put to death, Our Lord preaches
His way to the cross, to death, to the grave-taking the kingdom of God every
step of the way, the way that must lead to the Resurrection!
So it is with you dear Christian. After the preaching of John the
Baptizer--that is the Law--does its job to convict you of your sin, it is
put to death along with your sin. In it's place Our Lord preaches you to His
cross, to His death, to His grave in order that you may be ready for your
cross, your death, and your grave that must come-taking the kingdom of God
every step of your way, the way that must lead to the Resurrection!
Hear again, dear people of God, the Word of the Lord from the lips of His
only begotten Son, in whom He is well pleased, "The time is fulfilled, and
the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." The living
Word of the Gospel that in Baptism, and even here and now is forgiving all
your sins and handing you the kingdom of God--in the name of the Father, and
of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!
____________________________________________________________
Click here to find the perfect picture with our powerful photo search features.
http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2241/fc/BLSrjpYR2bn9yJWzE4W42Kt1tpjbVoF32ekodRJefVxRDUscBeBeZfzRJLq/
___________________________________________________________________________
'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise
noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such
gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_
_attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author, as well as
for quoting or use in a congregational setting
_with_or_without_attribution_.
Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list.
Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster.
Subscribe? Send ANY note to: [email protected]
Unsubscribe? Send ANY note to: [email protected]
Archive? <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>
For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach
For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at:
Rev. Fr. Eric J. Stefanski <[email protected]>
