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Text of the page (random words):
rit of god descended on jesus as a dove and the father s voice was heard this is my beloved son with whom i am well pleased in your baptism the holy spirit descended on you in his gentleness and peace now that same spirit leads you in all of your believing and living in your baptism the father speaks for you just as he spoke for jesus your father tells you you are my beloved son or daughter i am pleased with you how can god say that because you are joined to jesus in that baptism it s all about being sinner when jesus was baptized he identified and revealed himself as sinner he made himself one of us so that he might make us like himself beloved children of god our father amen posted by randy asburry at 11 50 am no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels baptism epiphany homilies jesus christ justification preaching repentance 06 january 2017 homily for the epiphany of our lord 2017 gifts for the king who has everything matthew 2 1 12 delivered at the international center of the lutheran church missouri synod 6 january 2017 what do you get for the person who has everything perhaps you asked that question during your christmas shopping on this epiphany let s ask the same thing of the christ child what do you give to the king who has everything even as young child king jesus already owns everything doesn t he the earth is the lord s and the fullness thereof the world and those who dwell therein ps 24 1 this word made flesh made all things long before he took on flesh and without him was not anything made that was made jn 1 3 what do you give to the king who literally does have everything the magi came all the way from persia modern day iraq perhaps they learned of the coming messiah from daniel and other exiles over five centuries before christ came perhaps they figured out the coming of the bright morning star from studying the stars themselves but come they did they came specifically to worship the newborn king once in the house with the virgin and the child they gave their gifts we sing of the gold and frankincense and myrrh but let s not forget the worship first they fell down and worshiped him and then they opened their treasures what do you get for the king who has everything gifts that honor who he is of course after all he is god and man in one person incense is a gift for god it speaks of the gifts of faith and prayer ascending to god in response to his goodness myrrh is a gift for a man this gift looks ahead to the death of jesus true god and true man on the cross and his proper burial and gold it s the gift fit for a king some say that this gold may have supplied the needs of the humble holy family for many years but the magi offered much more than material gifts they offered their faith and their worship the incense the myrrh and the gold were simply the first fruits of that faith the magi fell down and worshiped him you see they trusted in the promise of god s savior who would come into the world to restore all humanity to god himself physically the magi saw a humble infant in such mean estate but their eyes of faith saw beyond the lowliness they saw the god who came to make all people rich in his mercy the magi saw in this humble child the sun of righteousness who rises with healing in his wings mal 4 2 this holy infant would heal all people from the wounds the sores and the scars of their sins the warmth of his mercy and forgiveness would radiate out for all to enjoy he would heal the breach between jew and gentile he would make them one nation in his church when the magi looked at this holy son of mary they saw his glory from the rising of the sun is 59 19 their eyes of faith could see that god has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of jesus christ 2 cor 4 6 and why did he come to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death lk 1 78 79 nkjv even as you face the darkness of death in ill health or time of sorrow in anxiety or depression in conflict or disappointment the dawn of a new day has come this holy child brings the new day of life with god and resurrection from the dead this holy child is your bright morning star rev 22 16 the best gift the magi bring to this king of the universe in humble guise is their faith so what will you give to the king who has everything the child who radiates god s boundless mercy and gives you peace with god what will you give to the word made flesh who heals you from the sores of your sins and your disease of death you could offer him gold the gift befitting a king but all wealth and all things already belong to him your lord bids you to give him gold by giving it to the poor as jesus will say when you feed the hungry give drink to the thirsty clothe the naked visit the sick and imprisoned you do it to him what better way to give your gold to your king than to the poor in your own midst in his family the church you could still give incense both literally and figuratively as we sing in evening prayer let my prayer rise before you as incense offer your prayers to the god who promises to hear you and answer you because he identifies with you and with your troubles in this world the son of god enjoys the sweet fragrance that accompanies your prayers that s why we offer up to our god and savior prayers on behalf of the church the world and all sorts of needs as for myrrh that s definitely not necessary the myrrh was for his crucifixion and burial and since we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of jesus christ once for all heb 10 10 he does not need to die again the death he died he died to sin once for all but the life he lives he lives to god rom 6 10 and because of jesus one time sacrifice you get to consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to god in christ jesus rom 6 11 what can you give to the king who has everything most of all give him your faith and your worship just as the magi did just as they left their country in the east you can leave the country of your self serving desires and sinful ways just as they endured the arduous journey you can endure the trials of your journey through life learning to trust your savior and just as they bowed down to the almighty king when they saw him in humble guise you can bow down to your god who still comes to you in humble ways behind the humble water you can see god s life changing washing of forgiveness and life behind the humble words from your pastor s mouth in sermons and in the absolution you can hear and recognize the voice of your savior who heals you from all sins and enables you to live with god again and behind the humble bread and wine you can see jesus coming to you in the body and blood that he assumed from his virgin mother the same body broken in suffering and the same blood shed from a cross the same body and blood that are now the medicine of immortality just as the wise men saw the child jesus sitting on his mother s lap we get to see jesus in the bosom of his church our mother in the faith and life with god so the best thing you can give to this king is yourself your faith your worship your whole life after all that s what he has done for you for christ goes with us all the way today tomorrow ev ry day his love is never ending lsb 395 5 amen posted by randy asburry at 2 45 pm no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels epiphany homilies lcms preaching 02 january 2017 homily for the circumcision and name of jesus what s in a name luke 2 21 listen here what s in a name in our culture we use a name when we want to identify someone when you talk about the jones family obviously you are not talking about the smith family your name is your identity if your name is george chances are you will not respond if someone tries to get your attention saying hey martha in our culture we use names chiefly for identity what s in jesus name today we celebrate the circumcision and naming of our lord jesus christ when infant jesus was eight days old he was circumcised to fulfill the law and he was given his name that points us to the gospel remember what the angel told joseph even before jesus was born you shall call his name jesus for he will save his people from their sins mt 1 21 what s in that name jesus let s explore the name jesus and how it gives us god s holy name before we look at the name jesus itself let s figure out the importance of god s name about 960 years before jesus was born king solomon built the temple for the worship of god until that time the people of god had only a portable tent the tabernacle as a place for worship the tabernacle was where god chose to dwell with his people god chose to be in that specific place to bless his people the permanent temple built by king solomon was again the place where god would dwell with his people after solomon dedicated the temple the lord appeared to him and said i have consecrated this house that you have built by putting my name there forever my eyes and my heart will be there for all time 1 kgs 9 3 god made the temple a holy place by putting his name there where god puts his name that s where he chooses to dwell for the benefit of his people god likes to be in specific locations to bless his people what does this have to do with the name jesus when god sent his son to be born of the virgin mary he was dwelling in a specific place remember what we heard on christmas day and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory glory as of the only son from the father full of grace and truth jn 1 14 when the son of god the word took on human flesh he was god dwelling with us in fact the word for dwelling is the same word for tent or tabernacle in the old testament in the person named jesus god is dwelling with his people to bless them by saving them now to the name jesus itself jesus name is the greek form of the hebrew name joshua the name very simply means god saves or god is salvation this tells you two things about jesus first it tells you who he is he is god yes he has a common human name but he is also god god in the flesh he is god living among his people in a particular place second jesus name tells you what he does he saves he does much more than just give you some good moral teaching he doesn t merely give rules or principles for living no he saves he will save his people from their sins when the bible talks about jesus people it s talking about his race of people his community of people his church yes it s talking about you jesus saves you from your own sins he also saves you from the sins in which you are sinned against today let s focus on the ways we sin against god s name god teaches us about his name in the second commandment you shall not misuse the name of the lord your god what does this mean we should fear and love god so that we do not curse swear use satanic arts lie or deceive by his name but call upon it in every trouble pray praise and give thanks as you look back on the year just past no doubt you have shattered this commandment when troubles came you did not pray praise or give thanks certainly not all the time instead you worried you fretted you practiced the fine art of wringing your hands and when something good happened or when you narrowly escaped some tragedy such as a fender bender perhaps you gave credit to good luck or think back on ways you failed to pray praise or give thanks in general chances are that you did not use your mouth to bring glory to god alone all of this is your sin against the name of god god also teaches us how to use his name in the first petition of the lord s prayer hallowed by thy name what does this mean god s name is certainly holy in itself but we pray in this petition that it may be kept holy among us also how is god s name kept holy god s name is kept holy when the word of god is taught in its truth and purity and we as the children of god also lead holy lives according to it help us to do this dear father in heaven but anyone who teaches or lives contrary to god s word profanes the name of god among us protect us from this heavenly father you and i certainly need help in keeping god s name holy we cannot do it by relying on ourselves our sinful nature does not want god s word taught in its truth and purity when god shows you your sin your sinful flesh does not want to admit it in fact chances are you really don t want to admit that you are a sinner or that you have specific sins to confess but that s going against god s word and when it comes to god s forgiveness you may want to take it for granted well i know i m forgiven now tell me something else yes you and i have profaned god s name this past year and no doubt we ll do it again and again in this coming year but this morning let god s name be your help and your comfort after all our lord was given the name jesus because he will save his people from their sins here s how the name of jesus cleanses you and forgives you all your sins when jesus was given his name he was also circumcised this happened so that jesus would fulfill the whole law for you even at only eight days old jesus is perfectly keeping god s law but there s also wonderful gospel comfort in that circumcision already when infant jesus was only eight days old he shed his blood for you jesus circumcision was the first time he shed his blood for the good of his people it was the same blood that he would later shed on the cross it is the same blood that he gives you even now in his supper and we know that wherever the blood of jesus is there is forgiveness life and salvation and there s more god is very rich in his grace and forgiveness jesus takes his name and puts it on you in your baptism it s just like being born into your earthly family when you re born you are given the family name as you grow up you learn to wear that family name with pride and honor that is your identity in the same way when you are baptized you are born into the family of god in baptism god literally puts his name on you in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit that s your identity as a member of the family of christ you are given a name you are called christian you get to bear the heavenly family name with pride and honor because you are saved and made alive by jesus himself this name that you receive in your baptism also unites you with each other and with the whole christian church jesus said where two or three are gathered in my name there am i among them mt 18 20 where god puts his name there he is to bless his people his family his church you see god works the same way today as he did in solomon s day he chooses specific places to dwell with his people the font the pulpit and the altar yes in these very places jesus gathers you in his name and he is right here in our midst when you hear the words of absolution remember that they are jesus words in a few minutes you will receive christ s very b...