I've had an Epiphany!

Isaiah 49:5-6 5 But now the Lord who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to turn Jacob back to him, so that Israel might be gathered to him, so that I will be honored in the eyes of the Lord , and my God has become my strength— 6 the Lord said, “It is too small a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ones I have kept in Israel, so I will appoint you to be a light for the nations so that my salvation may be known to the end of the earth.” You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household. (Ephesians 2:19). Amen. When I was a kid, my two younger sisters and I would ride in the back of our parents’ blue conversion van. It had wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling blue carpeting. The back seats had been removed to make three benches around the back. There was a round pedestal table in the center of the benches for drinks, food and cards. There were no seat belt...

Galatians 3:26-27 In fact, you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.  27  Indeed, as many of you as were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household. (Ephesians 2:19). Amen. Several years ago, I baptized a baby boy in our church. Later, at the baptism party at the parents’ home, I was introduced to the baby’s grandfather, who is a Lutheran pastor and missed his grandson’s baptism because he was preaching that morning. He shook my hand and asked me one question. “Did you get the boy wet?” I replied, “Yes, sir. I got the boy wet.” A smile came over his face and he said, “That’s all I wanted to know.” Then he walked away. I guess that’s all he did want to know. This morning, as we celebrate the baptism of Jesus, we have the privilege of witnessing the baptism of Ernest and his two daughters. It isn’t an accident that toda...

Ephesians 1:3-8 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. 4 He did this when he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, so that we would be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ . He did this in accordance with the good purpose of his will, 6 and for the praise of his glorious grace, which he has graciously given us in the one he loves. 7 In him we also have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in keeping with the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight . Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Amen. You will all be failures in 2020. Isn’t that a cheery statement to hear from the pulpit to begin the New Year?! But it’s true, isn’t it? ...

Galatians 4:4-7 4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son to be born of a woman, so that he would be born under the law, 5 in order to redeem those under the law, so that we would be adopted as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts to shout, “Abba, Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if you are a son, then you are also an heir of God through Christ. Galatians 4:4-7 is one of the great texts of the Bible. It teaches the incarnation of Christ, the two natures of Jesus as God and Man, and that through Jesus as the Son of God and Son of Man, we are made heirs of the heavenly Father. These four verses are used in our Lutheran Catechism to teach to our youth and adult confirmands why Jesus had to be true God and true Man. I’m sure your pastor drilled the meaning of these verses into you in Catechism class. This morning, we’re going to do the same. To help you remember the importance of these verse, I wan...

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. ” After Charlie and Jenny were married, they were blessed with two children. But several months into Jenny’s third pregnancy, she suffered a miscarriage. Charlie and Jenny were devastated. It took them a long time to recover and feel passionate towards each other again. Finally, God blessed them with another child. But there were complications during the pregnancy and their son was born with serious health and mental disabilities. Charlie and Jenny didn’t care. They loved their son and poured everything into caring or him. Jenny quit work to stay home full-time with their son. Charlie worked as much overtime as possible to be able to afford the best doctors and therapists for their son. But as Jenny poured her passion into her son, she didn’t leave room to be passionate toward her husband. Charlie was so exhausted each night that ...

John 1:14 The Word became flesh and dwelled among us. Over the years, I have talked to lots of pastors and people about the benefits and blessings of celebrating the Lord’s Supper every Sunday. I tell people that at Epiphany we celebrate communion not just on Sundays, but also festival services like Epiphany, Ascension, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. At one point I was asked why we receive the Lord’s Supper on Christmas morning This dear person felt it was a little strange for a service celebrating the birth of Jesus to transition into receiving this baby’s body and blood. And I get it — the juxtaposition is a bit jarring. Christmas is a celebration of life. The very Word of God “became flesh and dwelled among us” (John 1:14). Our hymns this morning are filled with hope and joy. We exchange gifts with those we love in remembrance of God giving us the gift of himself in the Christchild. We have nativities set up with angels, Mary, Joseph, humble shepherds, and wise...

Acts 4:12 “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” It is common to be given a nickname when you are in college or the military. Think about some of the nicknames of your college friends or military buddies. Do you remember why those names were given? My college friends had nicknames like Max, Zod, Wierval and Digger. Mine was simply Z. Max was from the movie Max Duggan . Zod was from Superman II . Digger was the cute little mole character on Shirt Tales . Wierval was some weird mash-up of last names given by upper classmen. Mine is pretty easy to figure out. We still call each other these names decades later. The Son of God was given nicknames, too. This morning we heard some of them – Immanuel, Prince of Peace, Branch, Word, King, Lamb and Shepherd. Each one of those nicknames was given to tell us something more about God’s Son. They help us to capture the uncapturable grandeur of God. But n...