Category: Sermon Page

Pastor Tim Weiser

Old Testament Reading: Malachia 3:1-7b

Epistle Reading; Philippians 1:2-11

Holy Gospel: Luke 3:1-14 (15-20)

Guest Pastor: Mark Bangert

ADVENT 1, DECEMBER 1, 2024

Blameless Hearts Text: 1 Thessalonians 3:9–13

Other Lessons: Jeremiah 33:14–16; Psalm 25:1–10; Luke 19:28–40; Luke 21:25–36

Sermon Theme: God makes our hearts blameless—in holiness and love.

Sermon Goal: That we rely on Jesus to make our hearts blameless through his cross, increasing in love while awaiting his coming again with all his holy ones. Based on a sermon outline by Rev. Dr. Joel C. Elowsky, as printed in Concordia Pulpit Resources.                                                                                                 

Sermon: what does it mean to be blameless? Back in the eighties there was a song by Howard Jones called “No One Is to Blame.” That enigmatic song about what you can and can’t do in life claimed that, overall, no one is to blame. But that thinking seems to encapsulate what often happens in life when things go wrong: No one ever is to blame. We have no-fault insurance, no-fault divorce. Things go wrong. It’s no one’s fault. That’s just the way it is. No one ever is to blame.

Well, we know that’s not the way it is—but it could be. There’s plenty of blame to go around, but God Makes Our Hearts Blameless—in Holiness and Love.

By nature we cannot be holy or blameless. It seems that no one wants to take responsibility for anything these days. Things don’t get done, people have little incentive to be honest, and no one cares. “It’s not my fault.”                      

It’s like the little boy who is asked, “Who broke this vase?” We know what the reply is going to be: “Not me!” But, there are actually other people who care too much, racked by guilt because they’re sure they are to blame for whatever happened. Maybe you’re one of them. This can be just as unhealthy as denying any blame.

This kind of blame game can be especially cruel to those who are at a disadvantage and have no one to stick up for them. What’s the blame game going to look like when Jesus returns as judge with all his holy ones, as Paul mentions in today’s Epistle (vv 12–13)?

His prayer for the Thessalonians is that God would establish their hearts as blameless in holiness when they are presented for judgment on the Last Day. Easier said than done.      How could the Thessalonians ever aspire to be blameless in holiness on that Last Day?

See Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:10–12.                            These are not very positive assessments of our capabilities! They pretty much put both blamelessness and holiness out of our reach. So how can Paul ever hope to present the Thessalonians to God as “blameless in holiness”?

More to the point, how can you ever hope to present yourself before the judgment seat of Christ as “blameless in holiness”? God makes us holy and blameless in his sight through his Son. He already knows what’s been going on in your life, even when you try to hide it.           You can run, but you can’t hide. God comes looking for you. That can be bad news or good news.      

Bad news: There is punishment for sin.

Good news: There is also redemption through God’s Son, who was truly blameless and always remained so, even unto death (Is 53:5–6).

“By His dying He has destroyed death, and by His rising again He has restored to us everlasting life” (Proper Preface for Easter, LSB Altar Book, p 152). He has made us holy and blameless like himself as we join him in his death by being drowned in the waters of Baptism. The filth of sin is washed away, and we now appear before him holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life (Lk 1:75).

There now is no reason to run, no reason to hide, because “the Lord has laid on [Jesus] the iniquity of us all” (Is 53:6). “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). Our hearts are blameless in holiness before our God and Father. But there’s even more.

The Holy Spirit empowers us to live a life that is holy and blameless. Because we have died to sin in our baptisms and are raised to a whole new way of living, we are not only declared holy and blameless, but we can actually live in holiness.

We can live guilt free through the power of the Holy Spirit as the Lord increases our love for one another and for all.To live a life that is truly holy and blameless, we first need to understand the truth of what the apostle John meant when he wrote, “We love because he first loved us” (1 Jn 4:19).

“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). This is what enables us to “increase and abound in love for one another and for all” (v 12), when we realize just how much grace has been extended to us.  No one in our world today is ever to blame for anything. Christians understand how wrong such an idea like that is. The cross is proof that there is more than enough blame to go around. But all that blame ended up resting on the shoulders of one man, “the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim 2:5–6). The ransom that he paid is what establishes “your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints” (v 13). May we increase and abound in that kind of love for one another and for all. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Last Sunday of the Church Year (Proper 29): Christ the King, November 24, 2024

The Clash of the Kingdoms Text: Daniel 7:9–10, 13–14

Other Lessons: Psalm 93; Revelation 1:4b–8; John 18:33–37

Sermon Theme: Christ’s kingdom supersedes all human kingdoms.

Sermon Goal: That hearers are encouraged to work in Christ’s kingdom despite the many challenges from the kingdoms of the world. Based on a sermon outline by Dr. Joel D. Heck as printed in Concordia Pulpit Resources,

This Sunday culminates the church half of the church year; Advent, beginning next Sunday, will begin the Lord’s half of the new church year. We think of Christ as the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Messiah, the ruler of all things. (The prayer before placing the crown on the head of Charles III included an acknowledgement of God as the King of kings). Christ’s reign will culminate in the full establishment of the kingdom of the Messiah in eternity. Christ came the first time as a baby, but he will come a second time as judge and king over all the earth.

But Daniel sees a glorious kingdom coming from out of this world: the messianic kingdom (vv 9–10, 13–14). This kingdom is ushered in by the King of kings. Clothing as white as snow stands for purity. Fire stands for judgment and the presence of God. There can be no doubt this “one like a son of man” is the Son of God (v 13). The “Ancient of Days,” God the Father, gives him the kingdom (v 13). All nations worship him. Jesus himself would use the term “Son of Man” for himself far more than any other title—even during his trial (Mk 14:61–62). All dominion has been given to the Son of Man. Both worldly kingdoms and the kingdom of God are derived from God’s authority.          But there are huge differences between these kingdoms: Human authority covers some territory, but God’s authority is universal (v 14a). Human authority is time limited, but God’s kingdom is eternal (v 14b). Human authority will be taken away, but God’s authority will not (v 14c). The clash of these kingdoms—the worldly versus the messianic—will ultimately be no contest. The ultimate clash was decided on the cross. The prince of this world, Satan, brought his most powerful weapon to bear: death. But the messianic King triumphed over death. Satan was powerless to hold the “one like a son of man,” Jesus. Now the reign of Christ the King will be evident to all at his second coming. “All peoples, nations, and languages” shall most certainly serve him (v 13) That will include not only those who believed and will receive him with joy, but also those who denied or ignored or fought against him to the death and will then be forced to bow the knee before him (Rev 1:7; Phil 2:10–11). His dominion “shall not pass away,” and his kingdom “shall not be destroyed” (v 14). Society often rejects the transcendent values of the kingdom of God. But we remain committed to the principle that we must obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29). We will struggle within each of our human kingdoms (Jn 16:33), but God assures us that he is with us (Mt 28:20) in the person of Jesus. Under whatever kingdoms we live, and whichever “kingdoms” influence us, this is always our assurance: the King of kings rules over all things, always for our good. On this, even the liturgy at the coronation of Charles III got it right. Just before he placed the crown on Charles’s head, the archbishop prayed: “King of kings and Lord of lords, bless, we beseech thee, this Crown, and so sanctify thy servant Charles upon whose head this day thou dost place it for a sign of royal majesty, that he may be crowned with thy gracious favour and filled with abundant grace and all princely virtues; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, supreme over all things, one God, world without end” (The Church of England, The Coronation of King Charles III, May 2023)

Amen.