Let us
pray, Lord Jesus Christ in coming down from heaven Your purpose was to save us
from our sins. When You were led to
Golgotha, the disciples didn’t understand the full ramifications. After three days, You rose from the dead and
still the disciples did not fully understand, that the battle was over and the
victory over sin, death and the devil had been won. Yet, there was still more to be revealed, You,
Jesus Christ in fulfillment of the plan of salvation had to go to the
Father. May we who gather here this
morning confessing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior be encouraged in our
confession and be empowered to boldly proclaim the message of salvation for all
of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel this morning. AMEN.
He is
Risen and now must go to the Father! He
is Risen indeed! Alleluia!
This
past Sunday afternoon, our church had the pleasure of embarking upon an
adventure. You see, through a generous
anonymous donation, the Goodland Churches and we, Emmanuel Lutheran Church
kicked off a “Films of Faith Series” with the movie entitled, “Lion of Judah”
at the Sherman Theater. Judah, the main
character was born with one purpose in mind, to be the Old Testament sacrifice
that took place in Solomon’s Temple.
Money had changed hands, Judah was bound and placed on the altar for the
sacrifice for the sins of mankind. In
essence Judah’s final destination was that altar in Jerusalem to have his blood
spilled to set the people free in fulfillment of the laws given by Moses from
God.
Ironically,
Jesus Christ came for a purpose as well.
Jesus Christ innocent man, came to die on the cross on Golgotha. Jesus Christ came to walk the earth, heal the
sick, bind the broken hearted and loose the demons that possessed the people in
order that they would be free. Just as
Judah was the blood sacrifice in the movie, Jesus Christ was our blood
sacrifice with a sole purpose.
Jesus
Christ purpose was our salvation. Jesus
Christ came to set us free from the sins that bind us. Jesus Christ descended from heaven and
entered into this world in a stable in order to offer each and every one of us
salvation. In Jesus Christ offering us
salvation it costs us nothing. Jesus
Christ offers us this as a free gift without cost and without any expectation
or desire for payment. Unlike our
society which wants something for everything that is done, Jesus Christ broke
the bonds of slavery to sin. Jesus
Christ offers us our salvation as a free gift, because of His great love for
each and every one of us.
Because
of Jesus great love for us, when Jesus Christ accomplished our salvation His
ultimate destination was with His Father.
Just as when we take a long trip and have our eyes set on ‘getting home’,
Jesus Christ had the same ultimate destination of ‘getting home’ to
heaven. Jesus Christ in order to fulfill
the entire plan of salvation and complete the mission of salvation for all of
mankind needed to return to heaven to be with His Father. For in going home, the circle would be
complete from where He began at His Father’s side in heaven, to the stable, to
Egypt, to Nazareth, Jerusalem and back to heaven. But what is more amazing is that Jesus going
home to heaven also provided a promise from Him that we will talk about more
fully next week. So be prepared to hear
the connection.
As a final thought,
consider that Jesus fulfilling the plan of salvation reveals to and for us that
Jesus Christ mission was dying on the Cross for each of us, not because He had
to, but because He wanted to. Jesus
Christ chose death and returning to the Father in order to offer us eternal
life. May we who gather here this
morning confessing our faith and for Lily especially taking the responsibility
upon herself with her confirmation vows be empowered to understand that Jesus
Christ died to set all of us saints gathered here at Emmanuel free from our
sins. For Jesus Christ did not come into
the world to condemn the world, but that the World might be saved through Him
and His innocent death on Calvary for each and every one of us this
morning. AMEN.
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