Here follows is the sermon preached yesterday at Zion, Beecher, IL.
Periodically I use the text of a hymn to drive the direction of the
sermon. That is the case with this sermon.
Pr. Ron Rock
Zion Lutheran Church
Beecher, IL
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"Savior, Come to ME!"
Advent 1, C
Sun., November 29, 2009
Zion Lutheran Church, Beecher, IL
Sermon Text - Luke 19:28-40; Text of Savior of the Nations, Come
(Lutheran Service Book #332)
Old Testament Reading - Jeremiah 33:14-16
Epistle Reading - 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Gospel Reading - Luke 19:280-40
In the name of Jesus. [Amen] As we've done in the past. today we'll use
the text of the Hymn of the Day to drive the direction of the sermon. Of
course, we'll also use today's appointed readings that were just read to
assist us. You are encouraged to keep your hymnals open to #332 so that
you might be better able to consider the text of the hymn during the
course of the sermon. May God bless us as we listen, learn, and prepare
our hearts for the coming of the Lord in all His glory, power, and might!
Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
The first stanza reads:
1. Savior of the nations, come,
Virgin's Son, make here Your home!
Marvel now, O heav'n and earth,
That the Lord chose such a birth.
Well
do you? Do you "marvel" at what was just said? You might be
"marveling" at the thought that Christmas will be here and gone in less
than a month.
You might be marveling at all the things that need your attention before
you feel that you can celebrate Holy Christmas. But do you join with
"heav'n and earth
" and "marvel" at the Christmas story
?
that God in
Christ would humble Himself and come to earth to be born of Mary? Or
does that escape your attention
drowned out in a sea of chaos?
And
I throw out one more question for us each to consider. In this
first stanza, we find the words: "Virgin's Son, make here Your home!"
Now
we could understand those words to mean
"make earth to be Your
home."
But
rather than point to the world and all those around you
saying
that that is where our Lord ought to make His home
are you ready to put
your hand over your heart, and say those same words
"Virgin's Son, make
here Your home!"?
In other words, are you truly ready for the Savior of the Nations to
Come
not to celebrate His birth
oh no
are you ready for Him to come
as the almighty Lord of lords and King of kings
as the Ruler of All and
the Judge of All?
Through Isaiah, God has warned the earth
and He has warned us: "Turn
to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is
no other. 23By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in
righteousness a word that shall not return: 'To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.'" (Is. 45:22-23, ESV)
In today's Gospel reading, the people opened their cloaks and laid them
down so that the Lord Jesus might enter Jerusalem without Him or His
donkey setting foot on the pavement. During this Season of Advent, God
would have every person's heart be opened to Him in repentance and faith
turning from sin
and with the help of the Holy Spirit
"walk in the
light of [His] face." (Introit, Ps. 89:15, ESV)
Now, as we sing this first verse, may we truly marvel that the Lord "of
heav'n and earth" chose such birth to save us!
We sing hymn #332, the first stanza.
The next three verses are as follows:
2. Not by human flesh and blood,
By the Spirit of our God,
Was the Word of God made flesh-
Woman's Offspring, pure and fresh.
3. Here a maid was found with Child
Yet remained virgin mild.
In her womb this truth was shown;
God was there upon His throne.
4. Then stepped forth the Lord of all
From His pure and kingly hall;
God of God, yet fully man,
His heroic course began.
At this time of year, I drive my dear wife crazy. Oh, she'll sit and
dutifully watch portions of football games with me, but, after the game
she's ready to do something else.
But
not me! Oh no! Me
I feel obligated to watch the post-game
analysis
and listen to the so-called football experts who point out the
turning points in the game. They explain what went wrong
who messed
up. Or
they might describe how a crazy bounce of the ball after a
fumble decided the outcome of the game.
I enjoy seeing how the small details of the game make for a quiet locker
room for the losers
except for the pounding of fists on locker doors
and how those same details make for a joyous locker room celebration for
the winning team
laced with laughter and "high-fives!"
The next three verses that we'll sing likewise tell us profound details.
These verses are chock full
telling us how the Christ born in Bethlehem
was able to "win" our salvation.
In verses 2 & 3, we're told that Isaiah's prophecy predicting that the
Messiah would be born of virgin would be fulfilled. The Savior of the
Nations would have human flesh
from His mother. But His conception
would be caused by the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon the daughter
of Eve.
In other words, the Baby to come forth would be both God and man
the
very Son of God who always has been
and at the same time
the Child of
the "virgin mild." And, within her womb
that safest place that any
child ought to ever be
would be the very throne of the almighty God!
Again
we "marvel" at what God has done to Himself
He
who holds all
power in heaven and earth and under the earth
begins His State of
Humiliation not for His sake
but for ours! Think about that, dear
Christians, the eternal Son of God became like us
became one of us
to
save us!
Verse 4 states what we, and all Christians, will joyfully celebrate when
we gather here on Christmas Eve
The Savior of the Nations will be born
He'll "step forth" from the "pure and kingly hall" of His mother's womb
to bring about the salvation of the world!
"God of God" and still "fully man" would
"heroically
" some 33 years
later
be lifted up in His body to be crucified unto His death so that
He might redeem all the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, that is, you
and me - we who are His very own brothers and sisters. You see, the
Prince of Peace who emerged from His mother's womb, is flesh of our
flesh, our true Brother who died, so that we might live!
We sing hymn #332, verses 2-4.
If verses 2-4 described the details of how the Christ Child could be our
Savior
then verses 5 & 6 tell us what He did to be our Savior. Here
are the words:
5. God the Father was His source,
Back to God He ran His course.
Into hell His road went down,
Back then to His throne and crown.
6. For You are the Father's Son
Who in flesh the vict'ry won.
By Your mighty pow'r make whole
All our ills of flesh and soul.
By His "mighty power" Jesus made us broken down wrecks to be "whole" once
again. Our sins
do they not
our sins beat us down
making what God
made perfect in the creation
to be tainted
flawed
and stinking of
death.
But the Savior of the Nations whom we bid come to us has taken "our ills
of flesh and soul" and healed them! As Peter writes: "He Himself bore
our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. (1 Pet. 2:24, ESV)
Jesus suffered the equivalent of eternal death in hell while on the cross
for every man, woman, and child who would ever live. There was no other
way to bring about our salvation. And
when we recognize that
when we
come to grips with that reality
then we each say: "Savior of the
Nations, Come
Savior of the Nations
come to Me!"
For we know that we desperately need what He offers
forgiveness of
sins
which brings eternal life and salvation from hell! Truly, in
Jesus, the "victory" over our enemies of sin and death
is ours!
We sing stanzas 5 & 6.
The final two stanzas read:
7. From the manger newborn light
Shines in glory through the night.
Darkness there no more resides;
In this light faith now abides.
8. Glory to God the Father sing,
Glory to the Son, our King,
Glory to the Spirit be
Now and through eternity.
Alexander Pope once wrote: "Hope springs eternal." But "hope"
unrealized
remains just that
unrealized, unfulfilled hope.
But dear people of God, during this Season of Advent, know and believe
that your hope for forgiveness of your sins
every last one of them
is
fulfilled
and it's to be found in "the manger of newborn light."
In Jesus, the Light of the World, "darkness" no longer has a home in you
or in your fellow redeemed! In Jesus, God's promise given through
Jeremiah is fulfilled. The "Righteous Branch" has sprung up [from]
David" (Jer. 33:15, ESV) and He has saved His people
He has saved you!
Through your Baptism He resides in you
and you are in Him
and because
of that you "will dwell securely" (Jer. 33:15-16, ESV) in the land of the
living!
And so, dear Christians, we sing. We sing to the Savior of the Nations
who has come to us. We sing in triumphant gratitude and joy while we
walk in our Savior's holiness and righteousness all our days. We sing in
confidence, knowing that come what may in life, we have our dear Lord
Jesus "directing our way
" (1 Thess. 3:14, ESV).
And
what do we sing? We sing: "Glory to the Father, to the Son, and to
the Spirit
now and through eternity!" Thanks be to God! [Amen]
Please stand to sing the last 2 verses of the Hymn of the Day.
May the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. [Amen.]
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