| Lutheran Church of the Redeemer | Birmingham, Michigan |
Rev. Cary M. Richert 3rd Sunday after Pentecost (Series B) Presentation of the Augsburg Confession June 25, 2006 God’s Powerful and Purposeful Word * Isaiah 55:10-11 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater – so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Prairie Home Companion host, Garrison Kiellor, in poking fun at his fellow Lutherans said: We make fun of Lutherans for their blandness, their excessive calm, their fear of giving offense, their constant guilt that burns like a pilot light, their lack of speed, and also for their secret fondness for macaroni and cheese! [from an email received 2/19/2003] How many of you are life-long Lutherans?Three weeks ago we celebrated the birthday of the Christian Church ... the day of Pentecost. Today we commemorate what many consider to be the birthday of the Lutheran Church. In 1530, Emperor Charles V convened an official gathering in the German city of Augsburg, to resolve religious differences in the empire. On June 25, seven Lutheran princes and two Lutheran city officials stood before Charles V to present a confession of their faith. Knowing full well that Charles V had officially declared Martin Luther an outlaw nine years earlier for Luther’s attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church ... these nine Lutheran leaders never wavered in confessing their allegiance to the truth of God’s Word. They read their statement of faith – THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION ... 28 articles that summarized the biblical, Lutheran faith. Afterward, Charles V ordered them to return to the Roman Catholic Church. They didn’t ... and the Lutheran Church was born! On that day in 1530 God’s powerful Word accomplished the purpose for which He sent it! His Word triumphed over the earthly authority of sinful man. It prevailed over the misguided authority of the organized Church and its false gospel of forgiveness and salvation by works. At Christmas we celebrate God’s grace in sending sinful mankind the gift of a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, [Luke 2:10] ... Jesus, the Word made flesh who dwelt among us; the Word who pours out on us one undeserved blessing after another, [John 1:14, 16]! Jesus, "God’s Word made flesh" for us, accomplished the purposes for which God sent Him ...... He lived in complete obedience to God – for us, [Romans 5:19].... He was delivered over to death for our sins, [Romans 4:25].... He was raised to life for our justification, ... He reconciled sinful mankind to the holy and righteous God, [Romans 5:11].All that Jesus, "God’s Word made flesh," gained for us now comes to each of us personally through ... ... His powerful and purposeful spoken Word (preaching, teaching, absolution) ... His powerful and purposeful written Word (reading and meditating) ... His powerful and purposeful visible Word (Baptism and Communion) Jesus Himself is the power at work in His Word. Therefore, His Word never fails ... because He never fails! His power at work His Word is what gave courage to the nine confessors who stood before Charles V on this date 476 years ago in Augsburg (a Wednesday)! It’s the power that enables you today to endure the challenges and tribulations of your own life. God’s powerful Word accomplishes the purposes for which He sends it! Because the Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of sinners ... you and I can have confidence that, the Word of God we share with others won’t return empty, but will also accomplish the purposes for which God sends it to others through us! Yet, aren’t we often hesitant to share our faith with others, fearful of saying the wrong thing or of alienating ourselves? Haven’t we, in weakness of faith, forgotten God’s wonderful promise? And how often we forget that, our job is to plant and water the seeds of His Word ... God makes it grow, [1 Corinthians 3:5-7]!After Emperor Charles V ordered that all Lutheran preaching was to stop in Augsburg ... and ordered the Lutherans to join him in the Roman Catholic Church ... one of the Lutheran princes – Margrave George of Brandenburg – responded: Rather than deny my God and suffer the Word of God to be taken away from me, I will kneel down and have my head cut off. Perhaps you remember the scene from the recent "Luther" movie! Only with God’s help could Margrave George take his stand on the Word of God. Only with God’s help can you and I take a similar stand on God’s Word. Only with God’s help are we equipped to share His powerful, life-saving Word with others. What happened following the presentation of THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION is evidence of what God accomplishes, as His Word goes out from the mouths of His faithful people! The apostle reminds us that, faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ, [Romans 10:17]. Countless millions have heard the pure, powerful, comforting Word of the Gospel proclaimed by the Lutheran Church around the world. Through this Word, God’s Holy Spirit has brought many into His kingdom of grace, where they received His gifts of forgiveness and eternal life!The Word of Christ is powerful. The Word of Christ is purposeful. Through it, Jesus waters our thirsty souls ... nourishes our hungry spirits with His spoken Word, His written Word and His visible Word. This Word is living and active! It brings us God’s gracious, undeserved gifts: faith, forgiveness, life, salvation. It mends our brokenness, comforts our sorrow, answers our doubts, calms our anxieties. God’s powerful Word truly does accomplish the purposes for which He sends it. What an awesome week of VBS we had this past week at Redeemer. The energy! The enthusiasm! If you were a part of it, you know how contagious it was! Built upon the solid foundation of God’s powerful and purposeful Word, the students and teachers learned to be courageous in knowing God, trusting God, believing in God, following God, and speaking up for God. Through characters like Elijah, Esther, Nicodemus, Saul, Peter and John ... we all were reminded to: Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go, [Joshua 1:9].By faith, the confessors who stood before Charles V knew and believed that. May we today, share that same unshakeable faith, trust and courage ... rooted in the powerful and purposeful Word of our gracious and loving Lord ... which always accomplishes the purposes for which He sends it! God grant it for Jesus’ sake. Amen. * Portions of this sermon adapted from: "There’s Power in the Word!" by Rev. Aaron A Stinnett, Concordia Pulpit Resources, v. 16, pt. 3, series B, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2006, pp. 19, 28-29, 63. |
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