Life Sunday (2024)
Notes
Transcript
Ephesians 2:1-10
Ephesians 2:1-10
My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, today is life Sunday. In our Epistle lesson today, is a well known passage about the fact that while were dead in our trespasses and sins, but Christ died for us that we might have life. The salvation He won was by our own doing, by our works. It was a gift of God’s grace, His love, and His mercy made manifest in His Son. Even though we were children of wrath like the rest of mankind, that God loved us, and we have been saved by His Grace.
Why have Life Sunday?
Roe V Wade did lasting damage to our country.
As we enter into an election year, things are tense, and the lines are being drawn, and sadly political parties are treated with greater reverence and dedication than churches. This has to do with the void that has been left by lack of religion. Throughout history, mankind recognizes that the need for religion, in today’s world, political parties are filling that void. That’s a longer talk, but you have to be on guard for that in the months ahead.
It affected not only children, but our view of life.
There were millions of innocent children that were murdered in our country. We would be fools to think that this happening had no impact on the culture, our lives, on our opinions and how we look at the world. It damaged us, and it damaged our neighbors.
We wish to bring healing to our neighbor.
Thankfully, there has been some progress, for which we ought to thank God, that strong defenses used to justify the murder of so many has been struck down. We ought to raise up thankful voices in praise for the aid and the defense of the unborn.
Jesus came that we might have life.
Life is good, and that is why Christ won for us eternal life. Now that is not eternal life on this world which is passing away, but in the Kingdom He has come to establish. Until that time, we are living in enemy territory.
The Prince of the Power of Air
This is the devil, he is at work in whom?
The sons of disobedience, for there are only two religions in the entire world, you are at dead in your trespasses and sins and in the kingdom of death, which belongs to the devil, or you are in Christ’s Kingdom. There is no middle ground, if you believe you can play both sides, and sit in the middle, then you are still in the kingdom of satan.
This is way in which you once walked.
The Scriptures say this about all of us, even if you were born in the church, you inherited the sin of Adam. Who amongst us is so strong, so perfect that we have slipped into death, and at times walked contrary to the faith unwittingly? If Satan could lure Adam and Eve into death, by transgressing one command, do you think you are stronger than those who had no sin at all?
This prince would have us ignore God’s Word.
Satan doesn’t want us to listen to it, or keep it before our eyes, for the Word has the power to defeat him and overthrow his kingdom entirely as Jesus did in the wilderness.
He would keep us in our grave.
That we might be brought unto hell with him, and perish eternally. He is the enemy of life, and the advocate of death that lasts forever. He would have us give up hope and embrace our sins, and he is the enemy that sits behind all these other forces that are allied against life.
God’s Mercy For You
The Father out of His great love saved you.
He did not leave you in this horrible state, but rather Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah the anointed one to overwhelm the powers of Satan and enter into the grave itself with us to free us from this horrible tyrant, and free us from eternal condemnation.
The Father could have let us perish.
But of his great love for you, He did not want you to remain in death, but rather that you might have life, and that you might have it abundantly not a life that would fade away but one that would last forever. So by Christ’s victory over death and the grave
There is a seat for us at God’s table.
A place for you, for you have been made a child of God, through the Waters of Baptism and by Christ’s death and resurrection. Jesus is on the Cross, suffering and fighting for you to have life. This is what we have to bring to our country, which is given over to
The Culture of Death
These issues didn’t just appear in the 70s.
These issues don’t just pop up out of the blue, but rather are reflections of what has been building in the country. The philosophy of the classroom becomes the philosophy of the government. The foundations that are laid when we are children are important.
The idea of a creator was removed.
When religious beliefs were removed from the teaching of children, it removed the belief that there is a place that we come from, and that gives to each life, merit, and worth.
If life does not inherent value, things get bleak.
By bleak, what if you measure human life by its usefulness. The only ones worth keeping alive are those who can contribute, and if they can’t contribute, then we would better off without them.
Or what about measuring it by its quality, what makes life worth living? Is it worth it to live in poverty? Is it worth it to live with a disability, or in pain? Or perhaps it is a question of how much hardship a person will have?
We still breathe this same air.
It is the same air that has been circulating for decades, and we would be foolish to believe we have not been affected by it in some way. The prince of this world has been spreading this poison to keep us dead in our trespasses and sins.
God’s Workmanship
If we are God’s workmanship, then we have value.
It is value that does not come from what we do, and it cannot be diminished by what we lose, or what we suffer. For it’s value is not found inside of us, but rather from the one who created us. Think of it like art, if I print a copy of the mona lisa, and I charge 860 million, do you think anyone is going to buy it?
What was the price of your life?
We know that Jesus redeemed us, but what doe the word redemption actually mean? To buy back, Christ bought you not with Gold or silver, but with his holy precious blood, and his innocent suffering and death, that you might be His own. That was the price Jesus paid to free you.
That’s how precious you are to God.
That He would send Jesus into the world to free you from the power of satan and restore you to Himself. For Adam sold all of the human race into slavery, but the Father sent the Son to purchase and win for himself. That’s how precious life is.
A Culture of Life
If we build on that foundation, we treasure life.
When the world tries to measure a human life, but its usefulness, by its quality, by its desirability, or its convenience, we say no. The value of human life comes from its creator, and the blood of Christ that was shed to save it. There are times that we must end life, soldiers, policemen, and when we are called to defend our neighbors from harm. We seek peace first, but each of those is a Godly vocation, that is necessary to defend other lives.
Each person has purpose.
You aren’t an accident, you aren’t worthless, or useless. We may not know at times why God has us here, but we can look at the Cross and remember God’s great love for us. That He did not even withhold His only-begotten son for our sake.
Who we are comes from God.
Our society is right now struggling, with why am I here, because instead of looking to our Creator, we look inside of our hearts, and try to find our meaning within ourselves. Instead of asking what do I want to be or do, to ask how has God enabled me to serve my neighbor? From there you will begin to piece together the reason God has you here.
My Brothers and Sisters, we are in a culture of death, but Christ has brought us to life, and that life by power of the Word and the Sacraments. The world needs what the Scriptures have to offer, and we can bring them hope in the midst of their trials, and their struggles, and their sufferings. Why would we let our neighbor endure these things without hope, when we know that Christ has come to make all things new. We have received a great blessing that has secured the opportunity for life for our neighbors, let us show them the good that God has given us in all life. In jesus name. Amen.