In Christ you are new. In Christ, you are set free. In fact, Jesus says you are salt, you are light.  You are the light of the world, so be light for the earth. You are the salt of the earth, so be salt for it. This is gospel-driven living. You are blessed, in Christ. Let your light shine! Our calling as sons and daughters of God means our lives will reflect our new status, and the world around us will be blessed by us. Our prayer is that God would help us to believe and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. Alive in Christ, you are set free to do just that.

You are illuminated by the Light! Jesus appears as the light that shines in the darkness. Dark places remain covered in the shadow of sin and unbelief. Now there are, however, bright places, too, and there you find God’s children. Jesus shines his light by preaching repentance and the good news of the nearing kingdom, and he invites us to follow him to a life illumined by him. God has made you new in Christ. Following him means living in the joy of freedom and walking in the light of love for God and neighbor. You are illuminated by the Light!

Jesus appears as the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One. Anointing is how God prepared Jesus for his mission. Since the days of Othniel (Judges 3:10), the Spirit of the Lord empowered God’s heroes to do his saving work. At his baptism, God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power and declared this son of Mary to be who he always has been, the Son of God—the one anointed to be the Savior of mankind. And yet there's still more! -- You are empowered by your baptism into Christ!

On Christmas morning we saw that this Child was true God, creator and sustainer of all things.  For our salvation, he also needed to be true man. It was we who had sinned against God. We humans were put under God’s law and expected to carry it out perfectly. So God became man in this child laid in a manger. “When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law.” The God-man did all of this so that we would be his own; heirs of heaven; God's children. And God cares for his sons and daughters. He cared for his son, the nation of Israel—though they were rebellious. He cared for his Son, Jesus—though Herod raged against him. He even cares for his newly adopted sons—though we do not deserve it. God cared for us by sending his Son to deliver us from the corruption of sin and transform us into sons just like Jesus. That work of Christ gives us peace that only sons and daughters can have.

God will come to save his people, just as he promised. He saves them through the virgin born Son of David who is also the Son of God, Immanuel. The Church prays for God to come in power to take away the burden of our sins. Since the Garden, there has been only one promised plan to do that: God would take on flesh and blood. Immanuel comes—God in the flesh—exactly as promised to save his people; to save you! Stand firm in the faith: Believe God's Promises.

God promises forgiveness of sins and eternal life to all. Repent and believe. “Praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble” (Daniel 4:37). “He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things” (Luke 1:52-53).

The "Story of the Promise" for the first Sunday of Advent is the account of Noah and his family who lived confidently in the promise of God's salvation. The God who delivered Noah and his family has delivered us and the world through Jesus' cross, and His Spirit has brought you and me into the ship of the church. Jesus is with you now and he is coming again soon! Live confidently in the promise of God's salvation! Live in God's promise as you watch for Jesus' coming again. Live in God's promise as you rejoice in that Jesus comes to you through his Word and Sacrament. Live in God's promise and receive the hope God gives us in preparing to celebrate Jesus' advent as the baby born in Bethlehem.

Christ the King Sunday - God promises rescue, redemption and peace.  Colossians 1:13-20 sounds a song of triumph for Christ our King. We will live with him in his kingdom, rejoicing in his goodness and resting in his eternal peace.

The relationship between God and his saints will last into eternity. He has set the final day and hour when we shall be delivered from this world of sin and death.  Today we remember the saints who triumphed by grace through faith in Christ alone and dwell with the Lord in eternal light.  Our prayer is that the Lord would keep us ever watchful for Jesus' coming and bring us at last to the marriage feast in heaven.

Let the Word of God shape you as you look for Jesus' return confident that God's judgment is certain--and all because of Jesus' work for you and the world. When Jesus returns on the clouds we shall hear: "Well done, good servant." Rejoice in the grace is ours, and ours to share! Today's sermon text is Psalm 90 which begins, "Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God."

Light and darkness are polar opposites. Where one advances, the other must retreat. Thus, they parallel the ultimate of polar opposites—good and evil, holiness and sin. Ever since mankind fell into sin, God promised to send a great Light to pierce the darkness of sin and death. In word and song, we discover the light that brings life to all mankind! And he sends us out to bear witness to the wondrous light we have seen.

Light and darkness are polar opposites. Where one advances, the other must retreat. Thus, they parallel the ultimate of polar opposites—good and evil, holiness and sin. Ever since mankind fell into sin, God promised to send a great Light to pierce the darkness of sin and death.

Love is rarely a gift. Typically, when you love someone, it is because you get something in return. You love your spouse in part because of the support and affection he shows to you. You love your favorite teacher because of what she gives you by making learning enjoyable. You love your dog because he is a loyal companion. In such cases, love is not a gift. It is something that is merited… deserved. Now, if you loved a spouse who always treated you like dirt, loved a teacher who taught you nothing, loved a dog that daily bit you, then your love would be a gift. If you love someone who gives you nothing in return, who makes your existence more difficult, then your love is a gift. You are showing undeserved love, which Scripture calls grace.
Love is rarely a gift. However, with God, his love is always a gift. God the Father looks at humanity and he sees us doing the evil we should not do. Just as bad, he sees us failing to do the good that we ought to do. Do we make God’s existence easier? No. Instead, God the Son took on human flesh and suffered and died to make atonement for our sins. Yet, he did so gladly. Why? Love! Love that is undeserved. The gift of love!  
 

The ancient church had Latin titles for all their Sundays. They called the third Sunday in Advent “Gaudete Sunday.” The Latin word gaudete means rejoice. On some Advent wreaths, the third candle is a pinkish rose color, symbolizing joy.
An encouragement to rejoice might sound odd in light of this Advent season’s themes, especially Christ’s second coming to this world. We have seen that when Jesus comes again he is going to judge all mankind and destroy the universe. Even the gospel reading for today warns about “the coming wrath” which will include “unquenchable fire.” If that is what Christ will bring at his second coming, how can we possibly live joyfully?
Answer: because of Christ’s first coming. When Jesus came that first Christmas, it wasn’t to bring judgment, but to bear judgment. Jesus was born, not to punish sin, but to be punished for sin. All those with faith in Christ know that when he comes for the second time, it will be to deliver us, not destroy us. He will not increase our pain but take every pain away. Then, and not a moment before, our lives will finally be perfect! And so, we live joyfully and thankfully, looking forward to Christ’s return.

How do you feel when meeting someone important? Maybe it was a job interview with your potential future boss. Did you feel peaceful walking into that meeting? Or perhaps you were summoned, for a reason unknown to you, to come to the principal’s office at school? As you walked the hallway towards his door, were you at peace? When we come face-to-face with someone who can influence the direction of our lives, that tends to be nerve-wracking, not peaceful. How nervous will you be, then, when you stand face-to-face with your God, who will determine where you spend eternity?
God is much more than a boss or a principal. He is your Creator, the one who gave you life. And when he did, he intended you to use that life in a very specific way, one which would bring glory to him and beauty to this broken world. So, are you ready to meet him?
God wants you to be at perfect peace when you stand before him. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace…” the angels sang that first Christmas Eve. Through the work of Christ, sinners are at peace with a holy God. Even more, throughout history God’s messengers like John the Baptist proclaimed the gospel, so that God’s people could live in peace. God raises up a messenger to preach that gospel to you today.
 

How do you feel when meeting someone important? Maybe it was a job interview with your potential future boss. Did you feel peaceful walking into that meeting? Or perhaps you were summoned, for a reason unknown to you, to come to the principal’s office at school? As you walked the hallway towards his door, were you at peace? When we come face-to-face with someone who can influence the direction of our lives, that tends to be nerve-wracking, not peaceful. How nervous will you be, then, when you stand face-to-face with your God, who will determine where you spend eternity?
God is much more than a boss or a principal. He is your Creator, the one who gave you life. And when he did, he intended for you to use that life in a very specific way, one which would bring glory to him and beauty to this broken world. So, are you ready to meet him? This Sunday, we see that God wants you to be at perfect peace when you stand before him. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace…” the angels sang that first Christmas Eve. Through the work of Christ, sinners are at peace with a holy God. Even more, throughout history God’s messengers like John the Baptist proclaimed the gospel, so that God’s people could live in peace. God raises up a messenger to preach that gospel to you today.

Never could there be a king like Christ, our king. Beyond all comparison is the rule he exercises in time and in eternity. Incomparably great therefore is also our joy in worshiping him even now as we await his triumphant return to transform our worship in faith and under the cross to worship in sight and in glory. 

Our God's mercy and grace never ceases. In response, we give ourselves to him as sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving.

As we approach the end of all things and the great Day of Judgment, we want to make sure we have it all straight. God's Word for for this Sunday helps us prepare by their careful description of what is coming, so that we will not fear as we look and long for the day of his appearing. Rather, clinging to his grace in Word and sacraments, we strive to live in a way that shows that we know what to expect at the end of it all. 

Bloodshed...violence...natural disasters...disease...political turmoil. What is this world coming to? When will it end? The end of the world and Jesus' return to judge is the focus of our worship this Sunday. Though the thought of judgment should terrify the unbeliever (and my own sinful heart), God's Word gives us confidence in the face of death and judgment. We look forward to the day on which we will stand before God to hear the “Not guilty!” verdict which brought us to faith in the first place. There is no better preparation for death and judgment than a firm clinging to that gracious verdict. There is no better life than the one that has that verdict as its center and the motivation for everything in it. 

Many Lutherans think of Luther's words, "Here I stand," as the motto of the Lutheran Reformation. But the symbol pictured here represents what was adopted by the church of the reformation as a better motto and confession. It is based on a Latin phrase, Verbum Dei Manet in Aeternum, which means "The Word of God remains forever."
The unchanging Word of God is what the Lutheran Reformation and our Christian faith is all about. To be a confessional Lutheran is to one who takes God's Word seriously and takes God at his Word. 
We believe what God says, even when the whole world and our own experiences and ideas disagree. We cling to God's promise to forgive our sins and give us eternal life as a free gift of his grace apart from our works. We trust Jesus, when he predicts that things will get worse, especially for his Church, before the end of the world, but that he will use his unchanging Word in our hearts and on our lips to preserve his Church until he comes again. Those are truths worth standing for and truths worth celebrating.

In addition to major festivals (like Christmas and Easter) and seasons (like Advent and Lent), our Christian church calendar assigns specific calendar days to other “minor” festivals. The Lutheran reformers understood that there was great benefit in remembering the saints whom God has given to his church and in remembering their faith-filled deeds and words. The Apology (Defense) of the Augsburg Confession (Article XXI) gives three reasons to do so: (1) We thank God for giving faithful servants to his church and showing examples of his mercy. (2) Through such remembrance our faith is strengthened. When we see Peter’s denial of Christ forgiven, it teaches us that, where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. (3) The saints are examples whose lives of faith we imitate in our own callings. October 28 is designated as the Festival of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles. The biblical record gives us little information about these two men, but in them, we see ourselves, saints in relative obscurity striving for the truth in the face of error and opposition.

Jesus said, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” This commission is reflected in the mission of our Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, which “exists to make disciples throughout the world for time and for eternity” and in the mission of our congregation, "...proclaiming Christ in our community and world." Mission and Ministry Sunday is a time to refocus ourselves on the mission Jesus has given us.

Are you ready for the barrage of ads leading up to Christmas? "Black Friday" is right around the corner, and we will be inundated with advertisements, trying to convince us that we need more to make our lives complete and happy. Of course, we don't need those ads to get us to think that way. It's easy to want "more" (and not just when it comes to material possessions) and to let "more" consume our attention, our priorities, our lives! This Sunday, we find peace in the promises and providence of God to calm the chaos from the selfish race for more. The riches God has prepared for us give us contentment and joy, even in the most difficult circumstances. 

The closest we can get to a mirror of the love of God for us is the mirror of the love that he wants us to have for one another in the family. The goal of family members is to reflect the love of God for us in self giving love for one another in the family. How tragic that in our society such a mirror is clouded indeed! There is much to repent of and much to strive toward. 

The gifts of God are so rich and varied that the devil uses that very generosity in God to stir up jealousy and envy. We see it in others. More importantly, we see its ugliness in our own hearts. The devil wants to use God's blessings to divide us and distract us from God's mission. The message that is at the heart of that mission - the message of Christ crucified - is the very message we most need to hear for all of the times we have let the devil win. Through the cross of Christ, we have hope and peace in the face of our own weaknesses and failures. In the cross of Christ, we receive the strength to come together to carry out God's mission.