First Sunday after Epiphany 1/7/07 Text: Luke 3:15-22 Title: A Purpose Driven Life.
First Sunday after Epiphany
1/7/07
Text: Luke 3:15-22
Title: A Purpose Driven Life
Today, the day in which we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus, is the perfect day for what is going to take place right after the sermon, when two of our young people, Sarah Peerboom and Nick Wiess, will come forward and publicly confess before us their faith, the faith that was given to them by the Holy Spirit when they were baptized.
In stating their faith, they will acknowledge that they are living a purpose driven life. Now that might sound a little strange, for how can they know the purpose of their life at this age, for people in the 20s, 30s, even their 60s sometimes do not know their purpose in life.
I can say it of these two, because when they, in fact all of us, were baptized with water and God’s Word each one of us was given our purpose in life. Just what is that purpose, you might ask? Well, it is really quite simple, we just try to make it hard. Our purpose is simply that each of us are to live our life as a child of God, wherever we are, whatever we are doing in life.
It is really freeing when you understand that all God is asking you to do is to live your life as a Christian, sharing the Word of God, and caring for those in need. Listen to the Spirit inspired words of Saint Peter in 1 Peter 2:9, “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
He was talking to those in the Christian Church, those who at the time might have been Jews, or Gentiles, or who knows what other nationality. Christians are the chosen race, the royal priesthood, the holy nation. Christians are God’s own people who are created to serve their fellow humans by telling them of Jesus and his saving work.
Since in our Baptism we were united to Jesus in his death and resurrection we too belong to the Christian Church. We too are his chosen race, the royal priesthood, the holy nation. We too, have been created to serve our fellow human beings by telling them of Jesus and his saving work.
Sometimes the people of old did a great job following God’s leadership. They believed Moses’ word from the Lord. They worshiped and adored God. They went out boldly from Egypt. They praised God for his deliverance.
Other times, well how can I say it, they were bad. They would not listen to Moses and Aaron. They complained against God. Way too many times they became filled with fear. Even though they had cried to the Lord to deliver them they wanted to go back to the security of Egypt, even though they would once more be enslaved.
Through the ministry of Moses, God kept bringing them back, forgiving and restoring them time after time. And we, who are so much like them, turning to God when we are in trouble, and running from God when times are good, can learn from them, for they too, just like we do today, were looking for their purpose in life, usually in all the wrong things and places.
I say that because when you study the Old Testament closely you will see that it was when they searched for their purpose in life, that they actually lost their purpose, the purpose God had created them for.
Even with the church’s tarnished image today, many people think that those who work in the church, whether paid, or volunteer have been given a higher purpose than those who do not work in the church. Most just cannot except the purpose that God has laid out for them.
Everyone who has been baptized has a purpose, or to use another term, a calling. God, creates and sustains all things, including all the different vocations we find ourselves in. And because God creates and sustains all things whatever we find ourselves doing, whether it is earning a livelihood, caring for a family, being a father, or mother, being single, or retired, or being a student, whatever it is we do in our life is the purpose God has given us in which we are to live out our faith.
That is why Jesus was baptized, for in his baptism he was visibly given his purpose. Your baptism does the same thing, for in your baptism God claimed you to be his own. In your Baptism, you were united with Jesus Christ and made a child of God. Because of that identity given to you through your baptism you are called to use your abilities to honor God and serve your neighbor. The purpose, given to you in your baptism is not just a Sunday morning purpose. It is a 24/7 purpose.
You see to be a Christian, there has to be a connection between Sunday morning worship and our lives during the week. Sunday worship is not the end, but the means to living a purpose driven life. For it is on Sunday, the beginning of each week that we collectively remember Christ’s resurrection and our baptisms which unites us in his death and resurrection.
It is in the Sunday worship that we are reminded of who God is, what he has done for us, and who he made us to be. It is in our Sunday worship that we find that it is not a job, or even an obligation, but a privilege for us to be his heart, mouth, hands and feet on this earth. Sunday equips us for Monday and the rest of the week, as we live our God given, purpose driven life.
By keeping the connection between your daily work, whatever it might be, and worship, you can confidently represent God, wherever God has placed you. Experiencing God’s grace in worship and the Sacraments enables you to sense God’s call to be honest, to work with integrity, to display sensitivity to those you come into contact with during the week. You are better equipped to love the unlovable, and help those in need, to live out your God given, purpose given life
Oh, you will have challenges. Pressures, real or imagined are going to be placed on you. But you will handle them for when you know what your purpose in life is, that is, to live your life in a God pleasing manner you will live a better life. Not because of your will, but because you have the power of God to help you.
Does living a purpose driven life make a difference? You bet it will, for as you live out our calling, your purpose, with integrity, reflecting the values God’s Word inspires, you will not only evoke the response of others, but you will also create in those you come into contact with the desire to have what you have.
They might just ask you, “What drives you to act the way you do? What is at the center of your life? What exactly is it that makes you tick? All questions that you will be able to answer as you tell them of the sure hope that you have in Jesus Christ, the purpose he has called you to be in your baptism, for you are part of his people, his priesthood, his holy nation. You belong to him so that you can live for his purpose.
We must all remember that living a purpose driven life is not just sharing the story of God’s love in words. It also includes living as his people in the world in which we are placed. It is our baptism that enables us to combine our words and deeds into one harmonious whole to reflect God’s love through Jesus Christ. We are a forgiven people who have been given a purpose. Thus empowered we can let the world know who the Lord is and where they too can find peace, sure hope, and joy.
Will you always live your life as God has given it to you to live? Heavens no, you will not, for we are all sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. You see living the purpose driven life, is, as I said earlier, living your life where you are now, as you are, with all of your flaws and sinful inclinations.
For it is only then that you feel the need for forgiveness. It is only then that you learn to trust in God’s forgiveness and care. It is only then that you will have the peace that passes all understanding. It is only then that you will have true joy, for it is only then, that your life, your purpose, will make sense. That is living a purpose driven life, the purpose God gave you in your baptism. Amen
1/7/07
Text: Luke 3:15-22
Title: A Purpose Driven Life
Today, the day in which we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus, is the perfect day for what is going to take place right after the sermon, when two of our young people, Sarah Peerboom and Nick Wiess, will come forward and publicly confess before us their faith, the faith that was given to them by the Holy Spirit when they were baptized.
In stating their faith, they will acknowledge that they are living a purpose driven life. Now that might sound a little strange, for how can they know the purpose of their life at this age, for people in the 20s, 30s, even their 60s sometimes do not know their purpose in life.
I can say it of these two, because when they, in fact all of us, were baptized with water and God’s Word each one of us was given our purpose in life. Just what is that purpose, you might ask? Well, it is really quite simple, we just try to make it hard. Our purpose is simply that each of us are to live our life as a child of God, wherever we are, whatever we are doing in life.
It is really freeing when you understand that all God is asking you to do is to live your life as a Christian, sharing the Word of God, and caring for those in need. Listen to the Spirit inspired words of Saint Peter in 1 Peter 2:9, “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
He was talking to those in the Christian Church, those who at the time might have been Jews, or Gentiles, or who knows what other nationality. Christians are the chosen race, the royal priesthood, the holy nation. Christians are God’s own people who are created to serve their fellow humans by telling them of Jesus and his saving work.
Since in our Baptism we were united to Jesus in his death and resurrection we too belong to the Christian Church. We too are his chosen race, the royal priesthood, the holy nation. We too, have been created to serve our fellow human beings by telling them of Jesus and his saving work.
Sometimes the people of old did a great job following God’s leadership. They believed Moses’ word from the Lord. They worshiped and adored God. They went out boldly from Egypt. They praised God for his deliverance.
Other times, well how can I say it, they were bad. They would not listen to Moses and Aaron. They complained against God. Way too many times they became filled with fear. Even though they had cried to the Lord to deliver them they wanted to go back to the security of Egypt, even though they would once more be enslaved.
Through the ministry of Moses, God kept bringing them back, forgiving and restoring them time after time. And we, who are so much like them, turning to God when we are in trouble, and running from God when times are good, can learn from them, for they too, just like we do today, were looking for their purpose in life, usually in all the wrong things and places.
I say that because when you study the Old Testament closely you will see that it was when they searched for their purpose in life, that they actually lost their purpose, the purpose God had created them for.
Even with the church’s tarnished image today, many people think that those who work in the church, whether paid, or volunteer have been given a higher purpose than those who do not work in the church. Most just cannot except the purpose that God has laid out for them.
Everyone who has been baptized has a purpose, or to use another term, a calling. God, creates and sustains all things, including all the different vocations we find ourselves in. And because God creates and sustains all things whatever we find ourselves doing, whether it is earning a livelihood, caring for a family, being a father, or mother, being single, or retired, or being a student, whatever it is we do in our life is the purpose God has given us in which we are to live out our faith.
That is why Jesus was baptized, for in his baptism he was visibly given his purpose. Your baptism does the same thing, for in your baptism God claimed you to be his own. In your Baptism, you were united with Jesus Christ and made a child of God. Because of that identity given to you through your baptism you are called to use your abilities to honor God and serve your neighbor. The purpose, given to you in your baptism is not just a Sunday morning purpose. It is a 24/7 purpose.
You see to be a Christian, there has to be a connection between Sunday morning worship and our lives during the week. Sunday worship is not the end, but the means to living a purpose driven life. For it is on Sunday, the beginning of each week that we collectively remember Christ’s resurrection and our baptisms which unites us in his death and resurrection.
It is in the Sunday worship that we are reminded of who God is, what he has done for us, and who he made us to be. It is in our Sunday worship that we find that it is not a job, or even an obligation, but a privilege for us to be his heart, mouth, hands and feet on this earth. Sunday equips us for Monday and the rest of the week, as we live our God given, purpose driven life.
By keeping the connection between your daily work, whatever it might be, and worship, you can confidently represent God, wherever God has placed you. Experiencing God’s grace in worship and the Sacraments enables you to sense God’s call to be honest, to work with integrity, to display sensitivity to those you come into contact with during the week. You are better equipped to love the unlovable, and help those in need, to live out your God given, purpose given life
Oh, you will have challenges. Pressures, real or imagined are going to be placed on you. But you will handle them for when you know what your purpose in life is, that is, to live your life in a God pleasing manner you will live a better life. Not because of your will, but because you have the power of God to help you.
Does living a purpose driven life make a difference? You bet it will, for as you live out our calling, your purpose, with integrity, reflecting the values God’s Word inspires, you will not only evoke the response of others, but you will also create in those you come into contact with the desire to have what you have.
They might just ask you, “What drives you to act the way you do? What is at the center of your life? What exactly is it that makes you tick? All questions that you will be able to answer as you tell them of the sure hope that you have in Jesus Christ, the purpose he has called you to be in your baptism, for you are part of his people, his priesthood, his holy nation. You belong to him so that you can live for his purpose.
We must all remember that living a purpose driven life is not just sharing the story of God’s love in words. It also includes living as his people in the world in which we are placed. It is our baptism that enables us to combine our words and deeds into one harmonious whole to reflect God’s love through Jesus Christ. We are a forgiven people who have been given a purpose. Thus empowered we can let the world know who the Lord is and where they too can find peace, sure hope, and joy.
Will you always live your life as God has given it to you to live? Heavens no, you will not, for we are all sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. You see living the purpose driven life, is, as I said earlier, living your life where you are now, as you are, with all of your flaws and sinful inclinations.
For it is only then that you feel the need for forgiveness. It is only then that you learn to trust in God’s forgiveness and care. It is only then that you will have the peace that passes all understanding. It is only then that you will have true joy, for it is only then, that your life, your purpose, will make sense. That is living a purpose driven life, the purpose God gave you in your baptism. Amen
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 4:58 PM
|
0 comments
