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.
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
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