Sermon Tone Analysis

The great evangelist D. L. Moody was once asked, “How many converts did you have last night.”

He answered, “Two and one-half.”

“You mean two adults and a child?”

“No,” he replied.

“Two children and one adult.”

A child converted is an entire life converted.

13 And to which of the angels has he ever said,

“Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?

14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

2 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

A. J. Gordon, one of the founders of Gordon Conwell Divinity School, told of being out walking and looking across a field at a house.

There beside the house was what looked like a man pumping furiously at one of those hand pumps.

As Gordon watched, the man continued to pump at a tremendous rate; he seemed absolutely tireless, pumping on and on, up and down, without ever slowing in the slightest, much less stopping.

Truly it was a remarkable sight, so Gordon started to walk toward it.

As he got closer, he could see it was not a man at the pump, but a wooden figure painted to look like a man.

The arm that was pumping so rapidly was hinged at the elbow and the hand was wired to the pump handle.

The water was pouring forth, but not because the figure was pumping it.

You see, it was an artesian well, and the water was pumping the man!

When you see a man who is at work for God and producing results, recognize that it is the Holy Spirit working through him, not the man’s efforts that are giving results.

All he has to do—and all you have to do—is keep your hand on the handle.

Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning.

Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and take them to heart that, by the patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life.

… through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Listening to the Messenger

Zechariah gets a Notice

Getting a Head’s-Up from God

Everything that takes place in today’s Gospel text is the fruit of a message from God coming to pass.

All of it was foretold by an Angel who was sent to Zechariah.

Everything that the angel said came to pass.

For me, the important thing about this is that Zechariah knew that it was a messenger from God - an angel.

Was it because of his appearance, or because the angel identified himself as such?

Regardless, it was unusual, and it was a blessing for Zechariah and Elisabeth, just as it would be when Gabriel appeared to Mary later in the same chapter.

Among other things, the Bible tells us,

Is it possible that we may have missed out on a visitation and a message from God because we were jerks?

Do we as individuals, and St. John’s as a church, have a reputation for being a good neighbor, a friend of strangers and of those in need?

Do people still think that we are “the snooty church,” or is our kindness to all part of our reputation in the community, as it is written, (ESV)

5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.

The Lord is at hand;

We increase our opportunities, both to serve and to be served, by being open rather than closed, by being accessible rather than guarded, and by being friendly rather than by being stand-offish.

God has not called us to be isolated, but to be in fellowship, with Him and with one another.

Celebration Time

(ESV)

The Birth of John the Baptist

57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.

58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

Babies are a time of celebration, according to God’s Word

of celebration

The Birth of John the Baptist

57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.

58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

The Birth of John the Baptist

57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.

58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a subsidiary of Planned Parenthood of America,

57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.

58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

Estimated Total Abortions (2014): 8,180

The Guttmacher Institute estimates that approximately 8,180 abortions took place in Indiana during 2014.

In 2011, an estimated 9,430 abortions occured—compared with an estimated 10,680 in 2008 and 11,150 in 2005.

Estimated Abortion Percentage (2014): 9%

In 2014, an estimated 9% of pregnancies in Indiana ended in abortion.

This number does not take into account miscarriages.

It was arrived at by dividing Guttmacher's abortion estimate by the sum total of live births (84,080)—as reported by the CDC—and estimated abortions.

Estimated Abortion Rate* (2014): 6.3

The Guttmacher Institute estimates that the 2014 abortion rate for Indiana was 6.3.

In 2011, the abortion rate in Indiana was 7.3.

It was 8.3 in 2008, 8.6 in 2005, and 9.4 in 2000.

The 2014 abortion rate across the entire United States was 14.6.

*The abortion rate is the number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years.

Percentage of All U.S. Abortions (2014): 0.9%

In 2014, approximately 0.9% of all U.S. abortions occurred in Indiana.

Facilities That Perform Abortions (2014): 11

In 2014, the Guttmacher Institute reports that there were 11 abortion providers in Indiana.

There were 12 providers in 2011, 12 providers in 2008, 15 providers in 2005, and 15 providers in 2000.

More people are agreeing with God when it comes to the blessings of babies in the State of Indiana, and that’s a good thing.

Babies enter the Kingdom of God much easier than we adults do.

Unlike us, they don’t resist the word, they receive it with meekness.

They don’t resist the Spirit of grace.

Dr. Luther wrote in the Large Catechism:

49 The Baptism of infants is pleasing to Christ, as is proved well enough from His own work.

For God sanctifies many of those who have been baptized as infants and has given them the Holy Spirit.

There are still many people even today in whom we perceive that they have the Holy Spirit both because of their doctrine and life.

It is also given to us by God’s grace that we can explain the Scriptures and come to the knowledge of Christ, which is impossible without the Holy Spirit [1 Corinthians 12:3].

50 But if God did not accept the Baptism of infants, He would not give the Holy Spirit nor any of His gifts to any of them.

In short, during the long time up to this day, no person on earth could have been a Christian.

Now, God confirms Baptism by the gifts of His Holy Spirit, as is plainly seen in some of the Church Fathers, like St. Bernard, Gerson, John Hus, and others.

These people were baptized in infancy, and since the holy Christian Church cannot perish until the end of the world, the sects must acknowledge that such infant Baptism is pleasing to God.

For God can never be opposed to Himself or support falsehood and wickedness, or for its promotion impart His grace and Spirit.

51 This is indeed the best and strongest proof for the simpleminded and unlearned.

For the sects shall not take from us or overthrow this article: “I believe in … the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints.”

When Elisabeth and Zechariah’s son was born, everyone in the neighborhood got happy!

Nobody grumbled about there being another mouth in the village to feed, nobody complained about the increase in midnight crying, or asked how Elisabeth was going to avoid become a slave to patriarchy! “And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child.”

().

Robert Kolb, Timothy J. Wengert, and Charles P. Arand, The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2000), 462–463.

Circumcision was a powerful thing in that day.

It identified you as a participant in the Covenant that God made with Abraham, Isaac and Israel.

It meant that the God of Israel was your God, and that you had a share in the inheritance of the nation of Israel.

It also meant that you had a share in the burden of Israel, the Law.