Month: December 2025

December 31, 2025 – New Year’s Eve                                  Text:  Numbers 6:22-27

Dear Friends in Christ,

            How important has the Lord’s name been throughout the centuries?  In 1979, archaeologists were digging in some caves right outside the city walls of Jerusalem when they found two intriguing objects that were about the size and shape of cigarette filters.  They were tiny silver sheets rolled up like scrolls, and they had been placed as precious objects next to their owners in their tombs.  When the scrolls were carefully unrolled, Hebrew letters could be seen faintly scratched on the surfaces.  These silver scrolls are one of the most significant discoveries ever made because they are “the earliest known artifacts from the ancient world that document passages from the Hebrew Bible.”  What passages were scratched on the scrolls?  The Aaronic blessing, our text for tonight from the Book of Numbers:  “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” (v. 24-26)

            We now know and we have hard evidence, that these words brought great comfort to God’s people living six centuries before Jesus was born.  They accompanied the dearly departed in their graves.  They are an early confession that the Lord is the one saving them from their sins.  The Lord blesses.  The Lord gives peace to troubled sinners.  The archaeologists dug in the dirt, down to the bedrock, and there they found the name of God that was put upon his people through the Aaronic benediction.  This New Year’s night . . .

“DIGGING IN DIRT”

            Have you ever gone digging to find something about your ancestry?  It probably didn’t happen in dirt, but maybe you went through some pictures or files left by a grandparent or parent.  Some may have gone to a courthouse in the county a relative lived or called their church to find a baptism, confirmation, or funeral date.  We have names that identify us, names that mean something to us, names that have a history.

            But have we ever besmirched that name when digging in some dirty places we shouldn’t be?  Trying to find some juicy info about a friend or neighbor?  Ever go into someone’s room, not your own, and you snooped around?  How about entering a business establishment where you feel uncomfortable the whole night?  Oh our digging can take many forms and not all for the good.

            Let’s dig back into this name Jesus.  In our gospel for tonight it says, “And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” (Luke 2:21).  We no longer practice circumcision as a churchly rite.  It is an Old Testament worship law that did foreshadow Jesus and his work.  Paul in our Epistle ties together circumcision with baptism and forgiveness. 

            The meaning of Jesus is that he saves his people from their sins.  In our Baptism the water washed away our dirty deeds done dirt cheap.  We also put on the name of Christ and became Christian.

            This is our name.  No matter if in this new year we change locations, get offered a new job, make resolutions to better ourselves, or have a child.  Wherever we are, whatever we do for a living, we know that God is our Father, Jesus, by his life, death, and resurrection, has saved us.  The Holy Spirit keep us in that faith.  A faith that will not find us six feet under in the dirt, but spending an eternity with the Holy Trinity in heaven.  A Blessed 2026!

                                                                                                                                                Amen.    

December 28, 2025                                                                      Text:  Galatians 4:4-7

Dear Friends in Christ,                                                          

            Have you ever thought about your identity and how many ways you have been identified over the years?  This was a fun little exercise as I worked on this sermon.  When I was born in 1965, I became a son, a grandson, and a nephew.  A few years later a brother and then a cousin.  I was also a friend and neighbor.  When I got to school it was student and athlete.  At Illinois State fraternity brother and TV-10 anchor.  Shortly thereafter I was asked to be a sponsor and Godfather, which I have been blessed to do numerous times.  At seminary I was a field worker and then a vicar and after graduation I became a husband.  At age 25, we arrive in Texas and my identity becomes Pastor.  Then I add uncle a few years later.  Two years after that I take on the important identity of dad.  A year and a half ago another identity when I became grandpa.  I don’t see surviving to great-grandpa but I might make “the cranky retired guy that lives down the street.”

            How do you identify yourself?  How many different titles have you had?  Do you ever ask . . .

“WHAT, REALLY, IS MY IDENTITY?”

            It may be harder to answer than we thought.  In the verse right before our text, Paul writes that we “were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.” (4:3).  Do you identify with being “enslaved to sin?”  Do you have any sins that chain you to this world?  How about idolatry?  Do you ever put things before your Creator?  Does money, health, family, pleasure or recreation come before your God relationship?  Do you ever get mad?  Yell at another driver?  Scream at a referee or your television?  Do you have a rival, someone you hold a grudge against?  Do you envy another’s spouse, job, kids, clothes, house, car?  What shackles you?  Are all these sins your identity?

            When Paul talks about being enslaved in these verses to the Galatians he isn’t talking about slavery to sin.  He is talking about the ways we try to free ourselves from our sin.  We start the bargaining process to get in good with God.  “Lord, I have done pretty good this week and really for a lifetime.  Why give me these health problems and money challenges?  Don’t I deserve better?”  How soon we forget, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23).

            Here is the Christmas induced announcement, being a slave to sin is not your identity.  It was at one time but now Paul says in our text, “you are no longer a slave.” (v. 7a). You have been redeemed and set free.  “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law.” (vs. 4-5a). Jesus took that enslavement to sin.  He walked it to the cross and He died there for you.  You are free and forgiven of your sins.  “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 8:1)

            Even better you are an adopted son of God, in baptism born again.  You have a new identity placed upon your heart.  Because you are a son, then you are also an heir.  You belong in God’s kingdom.  You are in that kingdom today as his child and in eternity when Jesus returns in glory, and you will be free from sin, accusation, suffering, pain, sorrow, and death. 

            Who are you?  This First Sunday of Christmas there is a joyous answer, because God’s Son was born of a woman, born under the law, you have a newborn identity:  sons of God and heirs of the promise.  Or as our sermon hymns says so beautifully, “I am baptized into Christ; I’m a child of paradise” – now and forever.

                                                                                                Amen.    

December 25, 2025 – Christmas                                               Text:  Matthew 1:18-25

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Baby blue.  Traditionally the color for the room of the newborn male.  One of the most popular of the blue hues and according to color experts it is “young, vibrant, and playful.”  It’s a color that just makes you feel good.  It should do the same today, we have got an infant to see, he’s male and we come into the presence of . . .

“BABY BLUE”

            Today we are going to talk about a cornucopia of colors.  As we step into the nativity, it is not simplicity of the setting that makes this place more regal than a nobles’ palace.  This King of kings and Lord of Lords has been given his title by God himself.  Into this baby blue setting we observe the pitch-black sins and blood-red offenses of his people that Jesus came to erase.  We have the diamond dust of a starlit night, the gold of angelic heralds, and the silver of their sparkling news.

            Matthew makes clear that Jesus is not just another baby blue baby born in the squalor of the times.  He is the long-awaited Messiah, the chosen one of God, whom the prophets foretold, and the one apostles would proclaim.

            Jesus was not conceived like all other children.  “She was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.” (v. 18).  Later he assures Joseph that he can take Mary as his wife, “but knew her not until she had given birth to a son.” (v. 25). It was a miraculous event.  It was God entering into the human world to experience it in human form. 

            So, the King came as a baby.  His kingdom was not of this world, but his infancy most certainly was.  He was nursed and nurtured, caressed and cradled.  He hungered, cried, needed a changing.  He slept.  Just imagine him smiling at his visitors.

            He came to make a conquest of life and death with new life.  His colors would not always be baby blue or even royal purple.  The red blood of the cross would change these colors to the majestic hues of heaven.  Jesus came to offer our world hope and peace.  Jesus came so that our lives would be less blue and more royal.

            The world turned a deaf ear to the “baby blue” infant of Bethlehem, just as later it plugged its ears to the “royal purple” Good News with the din of legalism and denial.  The Lord keeps shouting for us to recognize him, to hear that the King has come and his name is Jesus, Immanuel, “God with us.”  He keeps shouting that he loves us and seeks our membership in his royal family.

            This Christmas we remember that baby blue is just a color swatch in time.  Jesus grew from infancy to manhood, and from manhood to Saviorhood.  He grew beyond the shades of human coloring to be the vivid Lord of all.  From cradle to cross, from Bethlehem’s cave to calvary’s crucifixion, Jesus painted an image of God’s immense love for us.  As Easter dawned and the conquest of death became complete, we thrilled to the golden sunrise that changed the color of life forever.  Instead of dull and depressing, his victory gave life the brilliance of joy.  If no longer baby blue, he has nevertheless shared with us the white that adorns the palace of eternity and made us through Baptism his brothers and sisters.

            As we savor the goodness of his love in a simple wafer of bread and sip of wine, we recognize that Jesus imbues our lives with more than color – he offers forgiveness and love that never blur or fade or wash out.

            Let us, then, like the shepherds, celebrate the miracle of Christmas and experience the baby blue of God’s grace and salvation.  A Blessed Christmas to you!

                                                                                                                                    Amen.        

December 24, 2025 – Christmas Eve                                   Text:  Luke 2:1-20

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Are you ready to unwrap some gifts?  Maybe already today, or tonight, or tomorrow?  It is fun to get a gift.  As we get older, we probably enjoy the giving more, but then maybe you still enjoy the getting.  It is a blessing to watch a child unwrap.  I can still see the scene of our boys jumping around the living room when they received tickets to an Illinois basketball game.  For kids, the unwrapping of presents is foremost on their minds.

            Christmas is about the gift.  Not the tinsel laden, bright-lighted glitz of the holiday.  Behind the Santa and reindeer and snowman and shopping is something far deeper.  This gift is wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.  The gift of a baby who will save His people from their sins.  We conclude our series, “Every Heart Prepare – Seeing Christ in the Holiday Decorations . . .

“WRAPPED PRESENTS”

            One Christmas, a woman ran so rampant in her Christmas preparation that she went to a card store and picked up a box of 100 cards.  She didn’t take time to read them.  She signed them, stamped them and sent them off.  She had one card left and she read it:  “This card is just to say, a little gift is on the way.”  Were people expecting a gift that would never come?

            God made a promise that He would send a gift.  We are not left waiting for it.  It came, the promised Immanuel – God with us.  He came to deliver us from captivity.  He came to be our Savior.  The angels announced it.  “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you; you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” (v. 11-12).

            Some of our wrapped presents our beautiful.  We have in our midst tonight, I am sure, some wonderful wrappers.  Bows and string and all the corners just right.  Then you have me, and maybe you join in this.  Too much paper, not enough paper, things a little askew.  Everyone can tell who wrapped what.  But you see I like that.  The Christmas package Jesus was perfect, but not the setting or the people or the narrative.  Hard travel, babies being killed, stinky accommodations.  This was no wrapping to perfection, because He came for us that are less than perfect.

            When we receive a wrapped present, it is distinguished by the name.  When my whole extended family got together those many years ago, it took 20 minutes to get all the gifts distributed.  Whose is it?  Where are they sitting?  When Jesus was sent, the recipients were every man, woman, and child.  The newly delivered package was “a Savior, Christ the Lord.”  As our sermon hymn, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” said, we needed someone “to save us all from Satan’s power when we had gone astray.”  We were destined for death and destruction.  We needed someone to save us from the deadly consequences of sin.

            A mother was busy wrapping presents, and she asked her son to shine her shoes for the Christmas Day worship.  She was so pleased at what her eight-year-old had done, she gave him a dollar coin.  When she went to put the shoes on for church, she felt a lump in one shoe.  She removed it and found the dollar coin wrapped in paper with this note from her son:  “I done it for love.”

            When we gaze at this baby wrapped in a manger, God says, “I done it for love.”  God has given the greatest gift, because He has given Himself.  It was for love that He grew up to offer his life as a ransom for many.  Because of His life, death, and resurrection, you are forgiven and delivered from eternal death.

            But there is more.  God’s love gives additional gifts that result from the coming Christ.  In the movie Christmas Vacation when Clark gets enrolled in the Jelly of the Month Club, Cousin Eddie says, “Clark, that’s the gift that keeps on giving the whole year through.”  Advertisers use that same line with their products.  Consumers should expect a gift to please them on an ongoing basis.  Some do, but some are soon forgotten.

            The gift of a Savior has a lasting effect.  Jesus brings a salvation that endures forever.  He is the gift that keeps on giving.  A baptism we can remember daily.  A holy meal that constantly forgives.  A Lord’s Prayer we pray for a lifetime.  A Holy Spirit that renews our lives daily.  Grace and mercy without end. 

            Enjoy those wrapped presents.  Tear into them with joy.  Thank the giver.  Through the Holy Spirit keep wrapped up in the gift that is beyond compare – Jesus Christ.  “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”  A blessed Christmas!

                        Amen.      

December 21, 2025                                                    Text:  Matthew 16:13-20

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Ever had something happen to you that came “out of the blue?”  Maybe it was something that was said that caught you off guard.  Or could it be an action that happened so suddenly that you had no time to react.  If you have spent any time on earth, you have had occurrences, maybe multiple times, that came “out of the blue.”

            This Advent series “Advent Blues” takes us to Caesarea this morning.  Something is going to be said that catches the disciples off guard.  But one of the disciples has an answer that we will focus in on. 

“OUT OF THE BLUE – JESUS AS MESSIAH”

            We are in Caesarea; it is late in Jesus’ ministry, and He is there with his 12 disciples.  This is a pagan place surrounded by statues of Greek and Romans gods.  Jesus starts the conversation, “’Who do people say the Son of Man is?’  And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’  He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’” (vs. 13-15)

            Jesus asks a stunning question “out of the blue.”  Peter speaks for all of the disciples when he responds, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (v. 16).  It was out of the blue that this understanding came.  Jesus does acknowledge that Simon Peter’s revelation was given by God.  “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah!  For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” (v. 17).

            Does what Peter answers seem out of the blue to you?  Was it spontaneous and impulsive, like Peter’s personality?  Well, it was not.  A theologian named James Stewart wrote, the disciples “were beginning to feel toward Jesus just as they had always felt toward God.  They found now that, when they tried to think of God, it was Jesus’ face they saw.”  Jesus did not want his role as Messiah to be a bolt out of the blue – an impromptu strike of lightning – but an executed plan that began with God and was carefully fulfilled in and through Jesus.  How could people know Jesus as God’s Son if He only trumpeted himself?  By pointing to the Father, Jesus’ followers saw the Son was not just a son, but “the Son of the Living God.”

            There had been ancient prophecies, and the Jews looked forward to the Messiah coming.  Daniel and Isaiah painted wonderful pictures of him.  In 70 B.C. though there came the Book of Enoch.  The Messiah was to be militant, and terror would grip his enemies.  This was not the Messiah Jesus came to be.  He had to teach people all over again.  Daniel and Isaiah showed a Suffering Servant not a patriotic nationalist who comforted the beleaguered Jews.

            Christ the Messiah, the One who comes in love.  Paul wrote this to the Romans, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (5:8)

            In the South Pacific during World War II, a 19-century Melanesian religion was revived among tribal peoples.  It happened because airplanes dropped immense crates of supplies to help the embattled people with food and medicines and also dropped weapons and war equipment for the armies defending them.  As the people were primitive, they thought it was one of their gods blessing them with material gifts dropped out of the blue.  Thus the cult became a thriving religion.

            The plan of salvation was not intended to provide material wealth or war supplies, but eternal joy.  Jesus the Messiah was not an unexpected supply drop, but one whose planned invasion of earth had been carefully charted by heaven long ago.  Thus the prophets foretold him.  A people was appointed to receive him.  And God gave to the world, out of the blue, a promise long made and now fulfilled.  It was Jesus, the Infant of Bethlehem.  It was Jesus, the carpenter of Nazareth.  It was Jesus, the Galilean rabbi.  It was Jesus, the crucified one of Calvary, and the risen one of Easter.  In him all the pieces of the puzzle of salvation fit together – all the prophecies and all the proofs of his earthly ministry.  Jesus came from out of the blue, intent on fulfilling the Father’s plan to save the world.  It was not a momentary decision, but the plan love carved out before the beginnings of the universe.

            Jesus is Messiah – Alleluia!

                                                            Amen.         

December 17, 2025 – Mid-Week Advent                                Text:  1 John1:1-4

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Throughout the world, folks are decorating for Christmas with trees, evergreens, and lights.  Non-Christians and secular people do that.  But there is in this holiday season a decoration that is purely Christian.  It shows to us the message of Christmas.  This third week of Advent, we will continue our sermon series, “Every Heart Prepare – Seeing Christ in the Holiday Decorations . . .

“CRECHE”

            The creche is explicitly Christian because it depicts those who were present when the birth of Jesus Christ happened.  Most creches have some combination of Joseph, Mary, shepherds, Wise Men, angels and animals . . . plus of course baby Jesus away in a manger.  Our church has a creche here in front of the pulpit.  This is a witness to our worshippers of why we celebrate Christmas in the first place.  You may have a creche in your home or outside on your lawn.

            Do you know anything about the word creche?   It derives from the Latin and means “nursery.”  Even today, it is the French word for a nursery or childcare center.  In America, we most associate the creche with the biblical nativity scene in which the figures are arranged to depict the event of Jesus’ birth.

            The creche has been around for centuries.  The birth of Jesus had been depicted in frescos and painting for years, but the first reenacted nativity scene is attributed to Francis of Assisi in 1223 in Italia.  It was staged in a cave with living people and animals.  This nativity became so popular that within a century most of the churches in Italia were doing the same thing. 

            Eventually, the practicality of man started making these nativity scenes with plaster or wood.  Then man started to shrink these down to small models that could be set up in a home or a church narthex.  In the 1800’s that is what happened.  Lutherans and other Christian denominations had them out for display.  No longer just wood or plastic, some of these are made of plastic, paper, and porcelain.

            The creche is a visible representation of the men and women depicted in the accounts of Matthew 2 and Luke 2.  It gives us a nice picture and credible evidence of Christ’s birth.  We can see it with our eyes and touch it with our hands.  Who doesn’t picture that first Christmas if you set up a creche? 

            The creche does bring to mind Christ’s first advent and bears witness to His historical coming.  God came into the world in a tangible way.  The advent of our Lord wasn’t a spiritual fantasy.  It happened in real time to real people in this real creation.  The apostle John affirms the reality of the incarnate Christ, stating, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life…that which we have and seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:1,3)

            The creche reveals that Jesus was born in an earthy setting.  A stable with animals and hay.  Laid in a feeding trough – a manger.  God entered this world as a small and helpless infant – dependent on his parents.  Mary did you know you were touching the face of God? the Christmas carol says.  Joseph and Mary did, even if they didn’t grasp the eternal importance of this birth.  “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14). This humble setting displays the One, “who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” (Phil. 2:6-7)

            There are some creche displays that portray the nativity in a cave.  This may be closer to the truth.  On top of this model, a cross is implanted.  This reminds us of the purpose and mission for which Christ was born:  to save us from our sins by dying on the cross.  Jesus did not stay “away in a manger”.  He grew into a man who “was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief…But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed.” (Is. 53:3,5).  Jesus came in humble circumstances to share our humanity and became the Savior of sinners.  The creche reminds us of His humble beginnings on earth.

            The creche – visible and tangible.  It attests to why we even have Christmas at all.  The decoration, this nativity scene, prepares us to celebrate the advent of the baby who was born to save his people from their sins.

                                                                        Amen.