Greetings from Peter Mayer

Sunday, March 18, 2012

h20devos encores 031812 The Language of the Heart


How can I come before You?
What worthy gift could I bring?
What glorious feast could I offer?
What songs of majesty sing?
Lift this heart of sadness into gladness by Your peace
Before I can come before you, You come to me

Ever walk with me Lord
Each night and day a rejoicing
With kindness the harmony, justice the beat
You've turned my footsteps to dancing
Oh Ever walk with me Lord
Ever Walk With Me Lord by Peter Mayer

What follows is a portion of Sunday's sermon at Bethany Lutheran Church in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado, on March 26, 2006

"And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.  17 'Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God." (John 3:14-21)

Jesus said,  "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

John 3:16 is probably the most recognizable Bible passage ever written. Say the words with me, won't you, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life." Even if we don't have all the words totally memorized, we recognize and experience the Gospel when we hear it. It's what all of this is all about. During our Lenten journey we have been hearing about promises. We've taken a look at:  The Sign of the Promise- The Rainbow and God's covenant with Noah and all living creatures of the earth.


  • The Promise of Blessing- God's commitment to Abraham and Sarah that they would have an heir and become grandparents to a great nation
  • The Promise of Relationships-Having been liberated from slavery and brought through the waters of the Red Sea, God announced to the children of Israel that he was their God and they were his people. The 10 Commandments or Decalogue were then given.  
  • Today we hear in these well-known words, the Promise of Salvation, "so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."
What I would like to do is have you preach the sermon with me this morning. Now, you might be asking the good Lutheran question at this point, "What does this mean?" Well, what it means is that I would like for you to take in hand the bulletin, which has a hymn by the title God Loved the World. This hymn will be in the new hymnbook being produced by the ELCA. The words of this hymn are currently in the LBW, hymn 292, but in ELW, those words are connected to a tune which is well known to us, When I Survey The Wondrous Cross. So, in one way, it's a new song, but not really. The words have been around for some time and so has the tune. It's kinda nice now that they've been married together.

The first verse will be sung as a solo. (Any volunteers?) Actually Scott will sing it for us.

God so love the world so that he gave his only Son the lost to save,
That all who would in him believe should everlasting life receive

Sometimes, we tend to make things more complex, more difficult than what they really are. Today's gospel lesson is foundational, it is basic, it is simple, but not simplistic. It is life-giving. It comes from a conversation that Jesus was having with Nicodemus, who was a Pharisee. Nicodemus knew that Jesus had come from God and was trying to sort out all the pieces for himself. At the beginning of John, chapter three, we are told he came to Jesus at night. Maybe Nicodemus couldn't sleep because he was tossing and turning. Maybe he was working so hard trying to fit the pieces of his life together that he didn't have peace. Perhaps he didn't want his colleagues or anyone else to know that he was talking to Jesus. Whatever the reason, the setting is symbolic of Nicodemus' life. He wants to be enlightened.
If you want to read various translations of John 3:16, click HERE.

No matter what version or translation one reads John 3:16 in, it is the language of the heart. It is God coming to us, who names us, claims us and calls us to be followers.

Have a blessed day today,
Peace,
rtg

No comments:

Post a Comment