Our text was before the days of political correctness!...
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Our text was before the days of political correctness! We pussy foot around so as not to offend anyone. If our sermons get too radical we might lose members! We are Americans! We are the best! Nothing is wrong with us even though we try to remove the Ten Commandments from a court house and refuse to allow prayer in public. We are also Lutherans! We are the best of the best and not like those legalistic Roman Catholics who won't pay for contraceptives even though 95% of the members use them or those radical Baptists who won't even let you sip a beer! How then did John bring such crowds to hear him?
We don't like to hear that unless we know we need to shape up and might be going to hell! We certainly are not as bad as those sinners around us who may even include some politicians who ran for office. Some political ads were so bad, I wondered if I could stay in our country regardless who won. All candidates appeared to be beyond salvation if you watched those ads!
Are we ready to confess our sin and ask what we can do to atone and be restored? We aren't like those liberals who want us to give up some of our hard earned money to support the lazy! We aren't like those conservatives who cut corners to make a buck -- which is only standard business practice, after all. We ought to be content with our income and not always beg for more. Just be thankful for what we have!
If you heard your pastor speak with such authority, would you be like those who gathered to hear John and look into your heart and repent? I once asked the members of one of my congregations what went through their minds as they came forward for the Lord's Supper. Some were surprised I asked. They told me that they had always done it. It was a family tradition. Some said that if their spouse went up they felt they should follow. Some said they had a good "feeling" when they participated, and some, of course, just quoted from the catechism. I never found any who said they felt so deeply about their sins that they feared that winnowing fork and needed to come forward to find forgiveness and relief.
How can the coming of our Lord be good news if we don't really feel we need him? Good news is not just the gifts piled under the tree and a great Christmas feast! It is thankfulness for the life preserver thrown out for a drowning person. Do you feel the need of a life saver or are you just content to enjoy the Christmas tree and all the festivities? Don't forget the reason for the season!
We don't like to hear that unless we know we need to shape up and might be going to hell! We certainly are not as bad as those sinners around us who may even include some politicians who ran for office. Some political ads were so bad, I wondered if I could stay in our country regardless who won. All candidates appeared to be beyond salvation if you watched those ads!
Are we ready to confess our sin and ask what we can do to atone and be restored? We aren't like those liberals who want us to give up some of our hard earned money to support the lazy! We aren't like those conservatives who cut corners to make a buck -- which is only standard business practice, after all. We ought to be content with our income and not always beg for more. Just be thankful for what we have!
If you heard your pastor speak with such authority, would you be like those who gathered to hear John and look into your heart and repent? I once asked the members of one of my congregations what went through their minds as they came forward for the Lord's Supper. Some were surprised I asked. They told me that they had always done it. It was a family tradition. Some said that if their spouse went up they felt they should follow. Some said they had a good "feeling" when they participated, and some, of course, just quoted from the catechism. I never found any who said they felt so deeply about their sins that they feared that winnowing fork and needed to come forward to find forgiveness and relief.
How can the coming of our Lord be good news if we don't really feel we need him? Good news is not just the gifts piled under the tree and a great Christmas feast! It is thankfulness for the life preserver thrown out for a drowning person. Do you feel the need of a life saver or are you just content to enjoy the Christmas tree and all the festivities? Don't forget the reason for the season!
