Proper 16
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III
In 1991 , this will be the pivotal Sunday in the Pentecost cycle/season; thirteen Sundays precede it and thirteen Sundays follow before Pentecost is concluded with Christ the King Sunday. In most places, this next-to-last Sunday in August is almost the unofficial end of summer. People are beginning to think about Labor Day, the beginning of school, and a general transition in the thinking and the attitude people have toward recreation, work - and the life of the congregations. This is the signal that a new beginning is about to take place in life, in many ways and in various areas of life, and for the church, the eschatological theology of the Church year - "we proclaim his death until he comes (again)" - wakes up the members of the body of Christ and reminds them that a much greater "new begin-fling" will occur at the end of time. So, once again, the "weekly rhythm" of the church year celebrates the redeeming event - Jesus' death, resurrection, and parousia - not as an abstract theological truth, but as a concrete kerygmatic hope that the faithful have in Jesus Christ. Next Sunday, the church begins the latter half of its trek toward Christ the King Sunday and the conclusion of the church year. This reminds all believers that the pilgrimage will go on year after year until the time God has appointed for the return of Jesus Christ. For the next thirteen weeks, the church will engage in an eschatological and theological celebration of its hope of eternal life in the living and reigning Lord Jesus Christ, sustained by his presence in word and sacrament, and anticipating his promised return at the end of time.
The Prayer of the Day
The classic collect for the day accommodates the Sunday of the year somewhat better than the contemporary prayers meant to replace it:
Almighty and everlasting God, give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and charity; and that we may obtain that which thou dost promise, make us to love that which thou dost command; through thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end.
The Prayer of the Day in the Lutheran Book of Worship does have relevance for the reading of the John 6:60-69 Gospel, and especially to Peter's confession - "You are the Holy One" - in verses 68 and 69: "God of all creation, you reach out to call people of all nations to your kingdom. As you gather disciples from near and far, count us also among those who boldly confess your Son Jesus Christ as Lord." The two prayers "work well" in a kind of liturgical "tandem."
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 34:1-2, 15-22 (R); 34:15-22 (E, L) - For the third week in a row, the liturgical churches assign Psalm 34 as the responsory to the first reading of the day. (The Book of Common Prayer selects portions of it as alternative psalmody for the two previous Sundays.) If some of the scholars, who believe that this psalm was "a psalm of the passion" in the early liturgies of the church, are correct, it - for them and for us - gives a "kerygmatic twist" to the Old Testament reading from Joshua, thereby reflecting one dimension of the "Little Easter" theology of this and every Sunday. The other readings are set in that eschatological framework, which is embossed by this psalm about the vindication of the righteous: "The righteous cry and the Lord hears them and delivers them from all their troubles." And again, verse 20, "He will keep safe all his bones; not one of them shall be broken." The earlier refrain of the psalm, "Taste and see that the Lord is good" finds affirmation in the last verse: "The Lord ransoms the life of his servants, and none will be punished who trust in him."
The Psalm Prayer (LBW)
Lord, graciously hear usfor we seek you alone. Calm our bodies and minds with the peace which passes understanding and make us radiant with joy; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The readings:
Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 (L); 24:1-2a, 14-25 (E); 24:1-2, 15-18 (R)
If the Old Testament scholars are correct, this is what remains of an early liturgy, which was used at Shechem to renew the covenant between the people who lived there before the Israelites invaded the area and the Israelites themselves. The Amorites, who lived at Shechem, were heathens and had their own gods, as did the Israelites. A choice of sorts had to be made by the people; Joshua insisted that the God of Israel would be the choice. And so, Joshua says to the Israelites, "Choose this day whom you will serve.... as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." The people of Israel affirmed that choice, reciting all that God had done for them in bringing their "fathers" up out of Egypt, doing great signs in their sight, and who drove out the Amorites from the land God had given them.
The reading was selected because it points to a similar choice that had to be made by Peter and the disciples in the Gospel for the Day. Jesus said to the twelve [because some of his followers had deserted him and had gone home]: "Do you also wish to go away?" Peter answered for the others, "Lord, to whom shall we go?" and followed his question with that great confession of faith, which goes beyond the confession of the people of Israel when they had to make their choice of gods or God at Shechem.
2 Samuel 23:1-7 (C)
The end of David's life is at hand in this reading from 2 Samuel, and these, his last words, were recorded for posterity. This passage is called "the oracle of David," because he is convinced that God is speaking through him. (There is a primitive theology of the word at work here.) David declares that the righteous ruler, who "rules in the fear of God," is a blessing to the people over whom he rules: "He dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth upon a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass sprout from the earth." The people over whom this rule extends will enjoy the everlasting covenant with God, and they will prosper in that relationship. But, David declares, the godless will be overthrown and thrown away, to be consumed with fire." In addition to an operative and primitive theology of the word in this oracle, there is also the beginning of the doctrine of law and Gospel as a distinction between them, their effects and efficacy.
Ephesians 5:21-31 (L); 5:21-32 (R); 5:21-33 (E, C)
Pastors who have been around the church for a while will remember the marriage rite, which included this scriptural exhortation. A rubric (typically expressed in the Common Service Book on which this person cut his liturgical teeth) directed: "Then shall be read one or both of the following lections:" The Apostle Paul, speaking by the Holy Spirit, saith: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it. He that loveth his wife, loveth himself; for no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth it, even as the Lord the church. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord; for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the Head of the church." The second reading compounded the "submission problem." The Apostle Paul, speaking by the Holy Spirit, saith: "Ye wives, let your adorning be the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is, in the sight of God, of great price. Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel and as being heirs together of the grace of life." The last phrase might save the reading today, but it probably wouldn't even be heard by many women.
It is quite possible that a brief introduction would be needed before this lection is read, informing the hearers that "Paul" is speaking about the church in this little parable about marriage. One would have to avoid developing the details of how this parable was constructed, although the pastor will want to be aware of the sources "Paul" drew upon (Genesis 24, Leviticus 19, an early kergymatic formula, and an excerpt from a baptismal liturgy, plus the family codes of Judaism and its predecessor religions). The parable spells out the ecclesiological relationship of Jesus Christ to his church by means of the relationship that husband and wife have in marriage. He changes that relationship, in the parable, from one in which the wife is subject to her husband and must do her duty toward him to a relationship in which the husband's love for the wife is the key: "... as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for it." The reading has to do with basic and fundamental ecclesiology, not merely about matrimony, and it is only from this point of view, and after a clear introduction, that the preacher could get past the introduction in a sermon on this portion of Ephesians 5.
John 6:60-69
This is the fifth successive reading from John 6 as the Gospel of the Day. It refers to the reaction of many of Jesus' followers and disciples to what they perceive to be a "hard saying." Scholarly opinion has it that this had to do with Jesus' teaching in verses 35-50, where he speaks of himself as the bread which comes down from heaven, rather than about the "flesh" section in 51-59, which most New Testament exegetes consider to be redaction. This means that Jesus' claim, which was really to be the One promised by God who would come and save God's people, created a crisis of faith among the disciples, and that it caused them to "murmur," as the Jews had before them. When Jesus expanded on his hard saying, asking, "what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before?" - and after he told them, "It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life" - people began to turn away from Jesus and, as virtually all of the disciples and followers did at the end, deserted him. And so, it is at that point - after the "hard saying" - that Jesus asks that "hard question" of Peter, "Do you also wish to go away?" Peter's memorable answer, which nearly every Christian will say some time in some form or other ("I believe, Lord, help my unbelief" may be the cry of people on the verge of leaving Jesus and the faith), was followed up by that glorious - and Spirit-inspired - declaration of faith. On this note, Jesus' initial teachings at Capernaum were concluded.
A Sermon on the Gospel, John 6:60-69 - "The Critical Choice."
Paul was a drug addict and an alcoholic, and he had to steal in order to pay for his expensive habit. He stole whatever he could get his hands on. One of his targets was cars that were left unlocked, or had windows rolled down. One day in such a car he found nothing but a book on the back seat. It probably wouldn't buy a "fix," but it would at least give him something to read between drinks. So he took it. The book had a red and black cover with the single word title,
"Jesus." It was an A merican Bible Society edition of the gospel words of Jesus. He read it. But thefull significance of what he read did not sink in immediately. Some time later, two young men asked him if he had heard about Jesus. "Yeah, I read a book about Him," he said. As the conversation continued, he became more and more interested and began asking questions. After more reading and conversation, Paul became an eager disciple of Jesus Christ. His life was changed, and he began to share his new life with others. Today he is in a seminary studying for the ministry and still wondering who left the book about "Jesus" on the back seat of his car.
(From Sermon Illustrations for Gospel Lesson, Series B, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis.)
That young man found himself, as most of us do at one time or another in our lives, in the same kind of situation that Paul found himself in - a real crisis of faith - when Jesus asked him, "Do you also wish to go away?" The crisis called for a choice, a decision which would determine the direction of his life. So far, that young man has made the right choice and is, apparently, going in the right direction.
1. The Gospel creates a crisis in faith for those who hear that Jesus is the Lord, the Son of God, who has redeemed us from sin and set us free from the Devil and death. That is a "hard saying" - for every person who hears the Good News. In it Jesus makes an incredible claim, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live forever...."
2. The "hard saying" generates a "hard question:" Do I really believe that Jesus Christ is who he claims to be, the living and eternal Son of God? Or is he an impostor, a wandering Mediterranean magician, or, on another level, an inspiring teacher and gifted healer and prophet? How one answers this question determines whether or not that person will become a dedicated disciple and follow Jesus in complete and utter devotion.
3. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the true believer will make a valid confession: "You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God." When people are able to make that sort of confession, it is only because Jesus really has become their Lord and Savior to whom they can entrust their very lives and souls.
4. There is no other to whom we may go, if we seek and long for the truth of God and the life of his kingdom. He - and he alone - is the Son of God, who now reigns in heaven until he will come again to bring in the fullness of the Kingdom of God all over the world.
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 (L); 24:1-2a, 14-25 (E); 24:1-2, 15-18 (R) - "A Daily Choice."
After the first exhibition game of the 1989 National Football League season, D. J. Dozier, a third-year running back for the Minnesota Vikings, was interviewed by a sports writer, because he was the outstanding running back for the Vikings in the game. In his first two years with the Vikings, he was either hurt or playing inconsistently; people wondered about his durability and his dedication to the game and speculated on whether he would ever realize his full potential as a professional football player. The sports writer knew that he was a dedicated Christian, especially when he saw what was printed on the front of the sweatshirt he wore after the game. The front contained a quotation from Joshua 1:9 - "The Lord your God is with you wherever you go." On the back of the shirt he had another quotation from Joshua, who must have impressed him quite deeply, "Be strong and courageous." (1:18) There can be no doubt that he knew - and lived by - that hard saying of Joshua to the Israelites: "Choose ye this day whom you will serve." He made it clear in the interview, in a quiet way, that he had made his choice and was living for the Lord.
1. This is a common choice. Every person who has heard the Word of God - and the claims of Christ in the Gospels - must make such a choice. One must either accept the Word and declare God to be God and Christ to be the Lord or deny that there is any truth in such claims.
2. The choice creates a crisis in human life and affairs, because the person who claims Christ as Lord and Savior has to follow him, obey him, and witness to him in whatever is done or said. To say "I believe in Jesus Christ" involves one in the life and work of the Kingdom of God.
3. This is a daily choice. The Christian has to make choices between the things of God and the way of the world every day of his/her life. Such choices are more easily made -and kept - when people recognize their past failures to serve the Lord and repent of their sins on a daily basis.
4. The living Lord enables his own to be faithful to him and the Lord God - and gives his people new life by raising them up with him every day. He never abandons those who make the right choice, but becomes the very source of their faith and lives.
2 Samuel 23:1-7 - "David's Swan Song."
1. The "sweet singer of Israel" never sang more sweetly than he did just before he died. He spoke in "the Spirit of the Lord" - and he spoke God's beautiful word of life and truth.
2. God always brings the light of a new day into the lives of his people - and with it the sun and the rain, which make growth in him a real possibility. He has made an everlasting covenant with his people to bless them - and us - forever.
3. God loves the godless, but he will punish them for their waywardness and sin, their rejection of him as their Lord. It is no different now than in David's day, except that now he gives sinners a chance to repent and return to him in Jesus Christ the Lord. But there is little or no hope for the unrepentant.
4. Hear the words of the Lord, not simply those last words of David. They are the words of God - and they give life and hope to those who hear and heed them.
A Sermon on the Second Lesson, Ephesians 5:21-31 (L); 5:21-32 (R); 5:21-33 (E, C) - "The Head of the Church."
One of the real problems that many of us have in regard to the church is that we think of it in terms of "my church." Much of the congregationalism of the past and present developed from that type of thinking: "This is my congregation and my church" - and there is little consideration of the theological truth that the church is not ours, but Christ's. I once knew a man, devout and faithful, in his own way, who really believed that the local congregation was his - because his financial support kept the church solvent and his leadership was crucial to its program and spiritual life. Too many people have thought and acted from that perspective - to the detriment of themselves and the church.
1. Jesus is the Lord of the Church, the Head of the Church, and we belong to him; we constitute his body in the world, the church militant.
2. Jesus loves the church - after all, didn't he give himself up to death for the sake of the church which he came to establish here on earth?
3. Real believers love the Lord - and the rest of his body, the church here on earth. The church is a community of love, godly love, in the world. Jesus has made it that.
4. Those who love the Lord and love others in his name, obey him and witness to his love wherever they go and whatever they do. The Lord of the church has the whole world in his hands - and it is up to the faithful to tell that to all people.
The Prayer of the Day
The classic collect for the day accommodates the Sunday of the year somewhat better than the contemporary prayers meant to replace it:
Almighty and everlasting God, give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and charity; and that we may obtain that which thou dost promise, make us to love that which thou dost command; through thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end.
The Prayer of the Day in the Lutheran Book of Worship does have relevance for the reading of the John 6:60-69 Gospel, and especially to Peter's confession - "You are the Holy One" - in verses 68 and 69: "God of all creation, you reach out to call people of all nations to your kingdom. As you gather disciples from near and far, count us also among those who boldly confess your Son Jesus Christ as Lord." The two prayers "work well" in a kind of liturgical "tandem."
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 34:1-2, 15-22 (R); 34:15-22 (E, L) - For the third week in a row, the liturgical churches assign Psalm 34 as the responsory to the first reading of the day. (The Book of Common Prayer selects portions of it as alternative psalmody for the two previous Sundays.) If some of the scholars, who believe that this psalm was "a psalm of the passion" in the early liturgies of the church, are correct, it - for them and for us - gives a "kerygmatic twist" to the Old Testament reading from Joshua, thereby reflecting one dimension of the "Little Easter" theology of this and every Sunday. The other readings are set in that eschatological framework, which is embossed by this psalm about the vindication of the righteous: "The righteous cry and the Lord hears them and delivers them from all their troubles." And again, verse 20, "He will keep safe all his bones; not one of them shall be broken." The earlier refrain of the psalm, "Taste and see that the Lord is good" finds affirmation in the last verse: "The Lord ransoms the life of his servants, and none will be punished who trust in him."
The Psalm Prayer (LBW)
Lord, graciously hear usfor we seek you alone. Calm our bodies and minds with the peace which passes understanding and make us radiant with joy; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The readings:
Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 (L); 24:1-2a, 14-25 (E); 24:1-2, 15-18 (R)
If the Old Testament scholars are correct, this is what remains of an early liturgy, which was used at Shechem to renew the covenant between the people who lived there before the Israelites invaded the area and the Israelites themselves. The Amorites, who lived at Shechem, were heathens and had their own gods, as did the Israelites. A choice of sorts had to be made by the people; Joshua insisted that the God of Israel would be the choice. And so, Joshua says to the Israelites, "Choose this day whom you will serve.... as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." The people of Israel affirmed that choice, reciting all that God had done for them in bringing their "fathers" up out of Egypt, doing great signs in their sight, and who drove out the Amorites from the land God had given them.
The reading was selected because it points to a similar choice that had to be made by Peter and the disciples in the Gospel for the Day. Jesus said to the twelve [because some of his followers had deserted him and had gone home]: "Do you also wish to go away?" Peter answered for the others, "Lord, to whom shall we go?" and followed his question with that great confession of faith, which goes beyond the confession of the people of Israel when they had to make their choice of gods or God at Shechem.
2 Samuel 23:1-7 (C)
The end of David's life is at hand in this reading from 2 Samuel, and these, his last words, were recorded for posterity. This passage is called "the oracle of David," because he is convinced that God is speaking through him. (There is a primitive theology of the word at work here.) David declares that the righteous ruler, who "rules in the fear of God," is a blessing to the people over whom he rules: "He dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth upon a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass sprout from the earth." The people over whom this rule extends will enjoy the everlasting covenant with God, and they will prosper in that relationship. But, David declares, the godless will be overthrown and thrown away, to be consumed with fire." In addition to an operative and primitive theology of the word in this oracle, there is also the beginning of the doctrine of law and Gospel as a distinction between them, their effects and efficacy.
Ephesians 5:21-31 (L); 5:21-32 (R); 5:21-33 (E, C)
Pastors who have been around the church for a while will remember the marriage rite, which included this scriptural exhortation. A rubric (typically expressed in the Common Service Book on which this person cut his liturgical teeth) directed: "Then shall be read one or both of the following lections:" The Apostle Paul, speaking by the Holy Spirit, saith: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it. He that loveth his wife, loveth himself; for no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth it, even as the Lord the church. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord; for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the Head of the church." The second reading compounded the "submission problem." The Apostle Paul, speaking by the Holy Spirit, saith: "Ye wives, let your adorning be the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is, in the sight of God, of great price. Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel and as being heirs together of the grace of life." The last phrase might save the reading today, but it probably wouldn't even be heard by many women.
It is quite possible that a brief introduction would be needed before this lection is read, informing the hearers that "Paul" is speaking about the church in this little parable about marriage. One would have to avoid developing the details of how this parable was constructed, although the pastor will want to be aware of the sources "Paul" drew upon (Genesis 24, Leviticus 19, an early kergymatic formula, and an excerpt from a baptismal liturgy, plus the family codes of Judaism and its predecessor religions). The parable spells out the ecclesiological relationship of Jesus Christ to his church by means of the relationship that husband and wife have in marriage. He changes that relationship, in the parable, from one in which the wife is subject to her husband and must do her duty toward him to a relationship in which the husband's love for the wife is the key: "... as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for it." The reading has to do with basic and fundamental ecclesiology, not merely about matrimony, and it is only from this point of view, and after a clear introduction, that the preacher could get past the introduction in a sermon on this portion of Ephesians 5.
John 6:60-69
This is the fifth successive reading from John 6 as the Gospel of the Day. It refers to the reaction of many of Jesus' followers and disciples to what they perceive to be a "hard saying." Scholarly opinion has it that this had to do with Jesus' teaching in verses 35-50, where he speaks of himself as the bread which comes down from heaven, rather than about the "flesh" section in 51-59, which most New Testament exegetes consider to be redaction. This means that Jesus' claim, which was really to be the One promised by God who would come and save God's people, created a crisis of faith among the disciples, and that it caused them to "murmur," as the Jews had before them. When Jesus expanded on his hard saying, asking, "what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before?" - and after he told them, "It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life" - people began to turn away from Jesus and, as virtually all of the disciples and followers did at the end, deserted him. And so, it is at that point - after the "hard saying" - that Jesus asks that "hard question" of Peter, "Do you also wish to go away?" Peter's memorable answer, which nearly every Christian will say some time in some form or other ("I believe, Lord, help my unbelief" may be the cry of people on the verge of leaving Jesus and the faith), was followed up by that glorious - and Spirit-inspired - declaration of faith. On this note, Jesus' initial teachings at Capernaum were concluded.
A Sermon on the Gospel, John 6:60-69 - "The Critical Choice."
Paul was a drug addict and an alcoholic, and he had to steal in order to pay for his expensive habit. He stole whatever he could get his hands on. One of his targets was cars that were left unlocked, or had windows rolled down. One day in such a car he found nothing but a book on the back seat. It probably wouldn't buy a "fix," but it would at least give him something to read between drinks. So he took it. The book had a red and black cover with the single word title,
"Jesus." It was an A merican Bible Society edition of the gospel words of Jesus. He read it. But thefull significance of what he read did not sink in immediately. Some time later, two young men asked him if he had heard about Jesus. "Yeah, I read a book about Him," he said. As the conversation continued, he became more and more interested and began asking questions. After more reading and conversation, Paul became an eager disciple of Jesus Christ. His life was changed, and he began to share his new life with others. Today he is in a seminary studying for the ministry and still wondering who left the book about "Jesus" on the back seat of his car.
(From Sermon Illustrations for Gospel Lesson, Series B, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis.)
That young man found himself, as most of us do at one time or another in our lives, in the same kind of situation that Paul found himself in - a real crisis of faith - when Jesus asked him, "Do you also wish to go away?" The crisis called for a choice, a decision which would determine the direction of his life. So far, that young man has made the right choice and is, apparently, going in the right direction.
1. The Gospel creates a crisis in faith for those who hear that Jesus is the Lord, the Son of God, who has redeemed us from sin and set us free from the Devil and death. That is a "hard saying" - for every person who hears the Good News. In it Jesus makes an incredible claim, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live forever...."
2. The "hard saying" generates a "hard question:" Do I really believe that Jesus Christ is who he claims to be, the living and eternal Son of God? Or is he an impostor, a wandering Mediterranean magician, or, on another level, an inspiring teacher and gifted healer and prophet? How one answers this question determines whether or not that person will become a dedicated disciple and follow Jesus in complete and utter devotion.
3. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the true believer will make a valid confession: "You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God." When people are able to make that sort of confession, it is only because Jesus really has become their Lord and Savior to whom they can entrust their very lives and souls.
4. There is no other to whom we may go, if we seek and long for the truth of God and the life of his kingdom. He - and he alone - is the Son of God, who now reigns in heaven until he will come again to bring in the fullness of the Kingdom of God all over the world.
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 (L); 24:1-2a, 14-25 (E); 24:1-2, 15-18 (R) - "A Daily Choice."
After the first exhibition game of the 1989 National Football League season, D. J. Dozier, a third-year running back for the Minnesota Vikings, was interviewed by a sports writer, because he was the outstanding running back for the Vikings in the game. In his first two years with the Vikings, he was either hurt or playing inconsistently; people wondered about his durability and his dedication to the game and speculated on whether he would ever realize his full potential as a professional football player. The sports writer knew that he was a dedicated Christian, especially when he saw what was printed on the front of the sweatshirt he wore after the game. The front contained a quotation from Joshua 1:9 - "The Lord your God is with you wherever you go." On the back of the shirt he had another quotation from Joshua, who must have impressed him quite deeply, "Be strong and courageous." (1:18) There can be no doubt that he knew - and lived by - that hard saying of Joshua to the Israelites: "Choose ye this day whom you will serve." He made it clear in the interview, in a quiet way, that he had made his choice and was living for the Lord.
1. This is a common choice. Every person who has heard the Word of God - and the claims of Christ in the Gospels - must make such a choice. One must either accept the Word and declare God to be God and Christ to be the Lord or deny that there is any truth in such claims.
2. The choice creates a crisis in human life and affairs, because the person who claims Christ as Lord and Savior has to follow him, obey him, and witness to him in whatever is done or said. To say "I believe in Jesus Christ" involves one in the life and work of the Kingdom of God.
3. This is a daily choice. The Christian has to make choices between the things of God and the way of the world every day of his/her life. Such choices are more easily made -and kept - when people recognize their past failures to serve the Lord and repent of their sins on a daily basis.
4. The living Lord enables his own to be faithful to him and the Lord God - and gives his people new life by raising them up with him every day. He never abandons those who make the right choice, but becomes the very source of their faith and lives.
2 Samuel 23:1-7 - "David's Swan Song."
1. The "sweet singer of Israel" never sang more sweetly than he did just before he died. He spoke in "the Spirit of the Lord" - and he spoke God's beautiful word of life and truth.
2. God always brings the light of a new day into the lives of his people - and with it the sun and the rain, which make growth in him a real possibility. He has made an everlasting covenant with his people to bless them - and us - forever.
3. God loves the godless, but he will punish them for their waywardness and sin, their rejection of him as their Lord. It is no different now than in David's day, except that now he gives sinners a chance to repent and return to him in Jesus Christ the Lord. But there is little or no hope for the unrepentant.
4. Hear the words of the Lord, not simply those last words of David. They are the words of God - and they give life and hope to those who hear and heed them.
A Sermon on the Second Lesson, Ephesians 5:21-31 (L); 5:21-32 (R); 5:21-33 (E, C) - "The Head of the Church."
One of the real problems that many of us have in regard to the church is that we think of it in terms of "my church." Much of the congregationalism of the past and present developed from that type of thinking: "This is my congregation and my church" - and there is little consideration of the theological truth that the church is not ours, but Christ's. I once knew a man, devout and faithful, in his own way, who really believed that the local congregation was his - because his financial support kept the church solvent and his leadership was crucial to its program and spiritual life. Too many people have thought and acted from that perspective - to the detriment of themselves and the church.
1. Jesus is the Lord of the Church, the Head of the Church, and we belong to him; we constitute his body in the world, the church militant.
2. Jesus loves the church - after all, didn't he give himself up to death for the sake of the church which he came to establish here on earth?
3. Real believers love the Lord - and the rest of his body, the church here on earth. The church is a community of love, godly love, in the world. Jesus has made it that.
4. Those who love the Lord and love others in his name, obey him and witness to his love wherever they go and whatever they do. The Lord of the church has the whole world in his hands - and it is up to the faithful to tell that to all people.
