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Topical Index: Christian Life; Faith; Grace; Trust |
January 1, 2010
Pastor: Paul D. Nolting
Hymns: 36; 398(1,3); 212(1,6);120(1,3-5); 295(3,5-6); 444(4); 33; 123
WELCOME
Pre-Service devotion: Psalm 40
Pre-Service prayer:
O LORD God, as we enter a New Year, may we do so trusting both in Your grace and Your power. It is Your love that sustains us, Your wisdom that guides us, and Your presence that enables us to fulfill our respective callings. Grant that we might serve You with faithfulness until You call us home to heaven. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
INI
I will give you a new heart and put a new sspirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
We human beings have a problem by nature with our hearts. Jesus commented very accurately concerning our naturally sinful hearts: “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Mt. 15:19). Our hearts control our attitudes, or that spirit with which we approach all of life. If our hearts remain encrusted in sin and controlled by it, our attitude or spirit will remain adamantly opposed to the will of God and everything that is ultimately good!
God, however, has a deep and abiding love for us in spite of our natural sinfulness. It is His will that we be saved from our natural, sinful state. When He through the Holy Spirit brings us to faith through the gospel Word, He promises to give us a new heart and a new spirit. That new heart and spirit do not oppose God, but rather rejoices in Him and in the love He reveals through Jesus Christ. Consequently, when we, who have been renewed by the Spirit’s work, now approach our lives, we do so with a steadfast desire to fulfill God’s will and to do only those things that please Him! Instead of walking in various shades of darkness, we are enabled by the Spirit and by Christ Himself (whom the Scriptures say live within our hearts) to walk in light!
Oh, yes, we still have our sinful flesh with which to contend. There will be times when Satan succeeds in tripping us up. In this life we can never expect to be perfect. However, in faith our new heart and new spirit can and do wage war against Satan and the sinful thoughts he inspires. With the help of our Savior we can be confident that we will ultimately gain the victory! IN CHRIST ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW—including our hearts and spirits!
Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful. Praise the LORD with the harp; make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy.
Music is one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind! Both vocal and instrumental music allow us as God’s children to express our joy in and gratitude to God—fruits of our new hearts and spirits.
In our Pre-Service Devotion this morning, David speaks of God putting a new song in his mouth after delivering him from “a horrible pit” (cf. Ps. 40:1-3). The life of the child of God is not always trouble-free. In fact, Satan certainly works very hard to undermine our faith and life. Consequently, we too may find ourselves upon occasion in some horrible pit of physical, emotional, or spiritual pain. Yet, God can and does rescue us and instills within us a new song. In this second devotional reading, David urges us to sing that new song in praise to God!
One of the great joys of growing a bit older is the gift of grandchildren. Our daughters report and my wife and I have observed that our two oldest granddaughters—one nearly two and the other nearly three—tend to go about the house singing. Their minds and hearts are not burdened by adult troubles, for they trust their God and His representatives—their parents, to take care of them. Their new song reflects their total faith and confidence.
May we all with simple, child-like faith sing out our new song with joy to our Savior God! It does not really matter if we are always in pitch, for we are expressing the joy God has placed in our hearts in view of the redemption we enjoy through Christ. Indeed, IN CHRIST ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW! Let us express that newness in song!
But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Old man…new man—both remain part of our lives as Christians. The old man—our sinful flesh unfortunately can and often does frustrate us. Paul writes so passionately: “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do…. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom. 7:14-15, 18-25)
Is that not our spiritual reality—wanting to do good, but so often failing to do so, wanting to resist evil, but all too often succumbing? Yet, in Christ, St. Paul reminds us, we also have a new man with a renewed mind—eager to put off our former sinful self and desiring to walk in a righteous and holy path. It is that new man with a renewed mind that we want to nurture each and every day of our lives. We do so when we walk before God with due humility, rejoicing in His forgiving love, meditating upon His will, and striving to live in accordance with His Word!
Does it take a concerted effort to “put off” the old man and to “put on” the new man? Of course it does! God does not promise us an easy life in this world, but He does promise to walk with us during our lives in this world. In view of that we can say with St. Paul, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). Indeed, IN CHRIST ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW—including our new man with a renewed mind!
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
My wife and I recently watched for a second time the movie entitled, Fireproof. It is a movie about a fireman and his wife, whose marriage is about to end, but which is ultimately saved when the fireman is urged by his father to follow a forty day program of applied, sacrificial, and unconditional love, which re-ignites his affectionate commitment to his wife and ultimately her affectionate commitment to him in return.
As we begin our New Year let us recommit ourselves to fulfilling Jesus’ “new” commandment. Jesus would not have us merely love others as we love ourselves, or as we would have ourselves be loved. Rather, He commands us to love as we have been loved by Him—with a perfect, sacrificial, unconditional, and unending love.
What a difference such a love can make and will make in the lives of all who strive with the Spirit’s help to apply such a love or who then are touched by such a love. Such a love truly, as the apostle Paul points out: “suffers long and is kind…does not envy…does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (Such a) love never fails” (1 Cor. 13:4-8a).
As we are bathed in the love of Christ and then seek to fulfill that new commandment, we will find ourselves changed and our relationships truly renewed. As we strive to fulfill that new commandment, we demonstrate to the world who we are—Jesus’ disciples, and thereby we honor His name and bear witness to His love. Indeed, IN CHRIST ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW—including that basic commandment which is to guide our lives in every relationship!
Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
In recent years God has given me the opportunity to work with a number of people facing a variety of addictions. Addictions, whether they involve some type of chemical dependency or unhealthy repetitious behavior, are troubling and troublesome. Satan uses addictions to enslave and degrade individuals with the hope ultimately that he might destroy them and those people around them.
There is hope for people facing addictions. That hope is ultimately found alone in Christ and through Christ, for it is in and through Christ that all men including those facing addictions are given new life!
The Psalmist David reveals the underlying secret to overcoming addictions, when he writes in Psalm 51: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit” (vs. 10-12).
A clean heart and a steadfast spirit leading to true joy and upheld by the Spirit of God are Jesus’ gifts to penitent sinners and all those trusting in His saving name.
That new life can only begin when we are buried with Christ through baptism into death, and then raised to life again through His saving name. Does that sound a bit dramatic? It is, for to overcome an addiction is nothing short of a miracle—a spiritual and physical resurrection from certain death! Are you bound by Satan in some area of your life—an area causing yourself and others close to you great pain and suffering? Approach your Savior with humility and repentance. He will not turn you away, but by grace will instill within your heart faith in His loving forgiveness. IN CHRIST ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW—including entirely new lives led and blessed by Jesus Himself!
Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I hope in Him!’
Are there any more precious words of consolation and comfort found within the Scriptures? I think not! Jeremiah sat amidst the rubble of what had been the glorious city of Jerusalem. Yet in the midst of destruction Jeremiah reminds us that we always have hope!
God is a compassionate God—His love cannot and will not fail us! Every morning leading into every day, whether we are talking about January 1 or December 31, is filled with evidence of His care and concern for us. While it is difficult to find individuals in our world who are faithful, the faithfulness of our Savior God cannot and will not ever end!
That is why Jeremiah claims the LORD as his portion. If everything in the world were to be divided up, in other words, Jeremiah says, “Just give me God!” Then everything ultimately will be alright! As we place our faith in the God who created us, who has redeemed us, and who presently sanctifies us, we can trust God to be with us and to help us overcome whatever it is that opposes us in this world. As we trust in our Savior God, He will never disappoint us. Therefore we can always place our hope in Him! As we enter this New Year, IN CHRIST EVERYTHING HAS BECOME NEW! Let us rejoice in Christ; let us cling to Christ; let us go forward following Christ into the future He has graciously planned for us!
Prayers and Lord’s Prayer:
O God our gracious Father, as we stand on the threshold of the New Year, we are mindful of the blessings You have showered upon us in the past and also our need for Your continual presence in the future. Years come and go, but You, our God, are ever the same. We are confident that from day to day and year to year Your tender kindness and compassionate love will rest upon us, because You have adopted us as Your children through faith in Jesus Christ and through Him made everything new. We thank and praise You for this, and we desire to serve and obey You.
Watch over us lest we become victims of pride, of lust, of selfishness, of lovelessness, or any other evil attitude of our sinful flesh. Fill us with love towards others, so that we are willing to lend our help to those who require it, and to be generous toward those who are in need. Keep us from all bitterness toward those who may have wronged us and move us to forgive them as You have forgiven us. Give us grace through the Spirit to resist the devil, the world, and our flesh with a steadfast faith that is nurtured daily by Your Word. Bind the hearts of the members of this congregation together and enable us to fulfill our individual and corporate ministries. We pray for Your continued blessing upon our Sunday School, our Christian Day School, and our efforts at gospel outreach. May our efforts serve to honor Your name and bring blessing to many individuals and families.
We pray, O Lord, for our country and ask for Your blessing upon her. Grant unto our population a genuine humility and repentance so that we all may be renewed by Your Word and the work of Your Spirit. Give unto our leaders wisdom and integrity. Comfort, encourage, and protect those of our fellow citizens who serve us in the military services and thereby preserve our freedoms. Grant that we might all recognize that with rights and privileges also come responsibilities. May we fulfill them all with faithfulness during the upcoming year.
All other petitions, O Lord, we ask in the words You have taught us: Our Father, Who art in heaven… Amen.
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Immanuel Lutheran Church 421 North Second Street Mankato, Minnesota 56001 |
Church Office: (507) 345-3027 Pastor Nolting: (507) 387-7035 Pastor Eichstadt: (507) 344-0898 |
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.