Lutheran Church of the Resurrection

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All babies are special, but the most special baby ever born was born on Christmas day. Never has there been a birth that was more anticipated and awaited than this one. Every generation beginning with Adam and Eve, spoke about His birth to the next generation. Each generation described the child to be born in the most incredible terms. They said He would be savior, redeemer, ruler, Prince of peace, Lord of lords, and King of kings. As time went by, anticipation grew, expectations increased. Men and women who had been told, and who believed what they had been told, were all anxiously "waiting for the consolation of Israel."

And then one day, a baby was born. Or rather, THE baby was born. "And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger." (Luke 2:7). (more…)

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If you've come here this morning expecting to hear about Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, you're going to be disappointed. Last night, we heard the Lukan version of the Christmas story which is full of the things that make Christmas so Christmasee. Both Matthew and Luke give us the Christmas story from the earthly perspective – the way Mary and Joseph and the shepherds in their fields saw things. Grant it, human minds could barely comprehend what they were seeing, but Paul and Peter would explain it all later.

This morning we get the Johanine version of the Christmas story. John gives us the Christmas story, not from the earthly perspective but from the heavenly perspective, as only the eyes of faith can see it. This is the way that angels and the archangels and all the company would have told the Christmas story if John hadn't been the one commissioned to do so. John wants us to see what human eyes could never have seen apart from divine revelation.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word was with God … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." (John 1:1-2,14). (more…)

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Every once in awhile there will be a story in the news about a woman who wakes up in the middle of the night, or who goes home from work in the middle of the day with terrible indigestion or stomach pains. She doesn't know the cause for her problems but as the pains increase and begin to come in noticeable intervals, she goes to the doctor and low and behold, the doctor determines the reason for her pain. She's pregnant. In fact, she's in labor. And before the day is over, she's a mother. And somehow, this is all a real surprise to her.

One day, a young woman in her late teens was surprised by the news that she was pregnant. Surprised, because she really had never known a man. Surprised because she got the news from an angel of the Lord. Surprised because the angel informed her that the child conceived in her "will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of His kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1:32-33).

How did Mary respond to this incredible news? How would you respond if you were in Mary's shoes? This morning, we want to explore two questions. First, how did Mary receive this startling news from the angel? Belief or disbelief? Does she ignore it or embrace it? And second, how did Mary understand this? How did she interpret this? This morning, we're going to make an example out of Mary. This is what the Saints are, they're examples to us of how the life of faith works and what it looks like. (more…)

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Eavesdropping on other people's conversations is not a very polite thing to do. It's liable to get you a reprimand like, "mind your own business." Reading other people's mail is even worse. It's more than just eavesdropping. You didn't "just happen to overhear" what Sally said to Sam. You "pried" into someone else's conversation.

That being said, there are exceptions to the rule. In fact, every conversation between two parties that's written in the Scriptures is meant for our ears to overhear and our eyes to pry into. When it comes to the Bible, eavesdropping is the thing to do. Every letter is to be pried into by people it's not addressed to. We're supposed to read other people's mail. And, as strange as this may sound, we're supposed to gossip it around to others. "Hey Sally, guess what? I saw a letter that Paul sent to the Romans and I read it. Wait 'til you hear what he said." "Hey Sam, I've got a letter from a fellow named Paul that's addressed to a fellow named Timothy. Let's open it and read it and see what it says. What do you say?"

There is a time for everything under heaven, even eavesdropping and reading other people's mail. Isn't that just what we've come here for this morning? And isn't that just what we've done. There was a conversation that took place between John the Baptist and Jesus, and we listened in on it. And when the conversation was concluded, no one said, "mind your own business." They said, "This is the gospel of the Lord." And you said, "Thank God we eavesdropped." (more…)

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Some time ago, there was the story in the news about a cinematographer who wanted to film skydivers during their decent. Like a lot of others who have do the same thing, he jumped with a group of skydivers and filmed them as they descended to earth. The film he made was aired on most of the major networks, but he never saw it. It showed the skydivers floating through the air in various patterns and formations. And then it showed them opening their shoots and gliding this way and that. And then, after the last shoot was opened, the picture suddenly went berserk and everything was chaotic movement, and then it just stopped. Turns out, the cinematographer forgot to put on his parachute and it wasn't until he reached for the ripcord that he realized that he was freefalling to his death.

We can only hope that he was better prepared to meet his maker than he was to jump from the plane.

It makes you wonder, how may people are just freefalling through life to their death. How many people move from day to day and year to year, never even thinking about how they're going to land, never thinking about meeting their maker?

And what about you? Are you prepared to meet your maker? Now there's a question that'll get your heart beating. It might sound pretty esoteric and theoretical while we're all sitting upright in a cushioned pew. But it sounds much different if you're lying flat on your back in a hospital bed or trapped in a burning building or under a hummvee that just met a roadside bomb. 'Are you prepared to meet your maker?' There's nothing hypothetical about it. (more…)