1st Sunday after Easter: Date: April 19, 2020
– THE SERMON: 1 Peter 1:3-9
Theme: Resurrection Hope
I. A Living Hope that Does Not Fade Away
II. Hope in the Face of Trials
III. Hope for What Matters Most – Salvation!
SERMON TEXT: 1 Peter 1:3-9
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
OFFERTORY, PRAYER; THE LORD’S PRAYER
Hymn 206: Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense
1. Jesus Christ, my sure Defense And my Savior ever liveth;
Knowing this, my confidence Rests upon the hope it giveth
Though the night of death be fraught Still with many an anxious tho’t.
2. Jesus, my Redeemer, lives I, too, unto life shall waken.
Endless joy my Savior gives; Shall my courage, then, be shaken?
Shall I fear, or could the Head Rise and leave His members dead?
3. Nay, too closely am I bound Unto Him by hope forever;
Faith’s strong band the Rock hath found,
Grasped it, and will leave it never;
Even death now cannot part From its Lord the trusting heart.
4. I am flesh and must return Unto dust, whence I am taken;
But by faith I now discern That from death I shall awaken
With My Savior to abide In His glory, at His side.
5. Glorified, I shall anew With this flesh then be enshrouded;
In this body I shall view God, my Lord, with eyes unclouded;
In this flesh I then shall see Jesus Christ eternally.
BENEDICTION;
C: Amen. Amen. Amen.
Hymn 50:1 Lord Dismiss Us with Thy Blessing
Lord dismiss us with thy blessing, Fill our hearts with joy and peace.
Let us each, Thy love possessing, Triumph in redeeming grace.
Oh, refresh us, Oh, refresh us, Trav’ling thro’ this wilderness. Amen.
( Pastor Theodore Barthels )
Bulletin: Read Bulletin
Sermon: Read Sermon
THE ORDER OF SERVICE: (p. 5 the Lutheran Hymnal)
THE EPISTLE LESSON: Acts 2:14a, 22-32
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them,
THE GOSPEL LESSON: John 20:19-31
Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
Sermon
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
2100 16th Street SW
Austin, MN 55912-1749
Pastor Ted Barthels
Sermon preached on
April 19, 2020
1st Sunday after Easter
Scripture Lessons: Acts 2:14a, 22-32, John 20:19-31
Hymns: 207:1-4; 196; 206:1-5; 50:1
Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sermon Text: 1 Peter 1:3-9
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. (NKJV)
This is the Word of God.
Sanctify us, oh Lord, through Your truth. Your Word is truth. Amen.
In Christ Jesus, God our Savior, dear fellow Redeemed:
INTRO: As long as there is life there is hope!
I think we all may have heard that line before. It is a line that requires some context to be sure. I imagine that it is heard in a medical context most often, but it is also a very fitting expression for spiritual hope as well. Or is it? One must understand that any spiritual hope must have a basis in truth. There are many ideas presented in the world that present only false hope. Eastern mysticism has been wildly popular in America for decades now, and has received much credit in our society as a source of peace and calm in the face of difficulties and ultimately hope for an everlasting peace of Nirvana. The practice of meditation and yoga is encouraged to help get one’s life energies properly aligned, and then with the pursuit of a good and kind life one may accumulate enough good Karma that one will be able to move up closer to that bliss we all desire in our next reincarnation.
Now what I find interesting is that these ideas receive very little ridicule from the world. Perhaps that is because they not only capture people’s imagination in their fantasy, but ultimately bring all praise back to man. Fallen man loves credit for all that might even remotely be thought of as good. This isn’t good. It is the righteousness of the works of the law, and “It was a false misleading dream that God His law had given That sinners could themselves redeem And by their works gain heaven. The law is but a mirror bright To bring the inbred sin to light That lurks within our nature.”
(The Lutheran Hymnal 377:3)
We have a different hope. A very real and solid hope, and it is that hope that lies at the center of our faith in Christ that we celebrate this Sunday and every Sunday. The Spirit leads us to lay hold of–
THEME: Resurrection Hope.
This is —
I. A Living Hope that Does Not Fade Away.
Consider the wonder of the opening verses of our text. It lays the foundation for true hope.
1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Unlike the false hopes of this world this hope comes to us from God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has given us a living hope in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Jesus lives and since there is life there is hope!
The grace of god in Christ is real! In His abundant mercy God the Father sent His Son into the world that we might live through Him. Jesus, not us, Jesus lived the perfectly holy righteous life that fulfilled the law’s demands. Yet it was Jesus who willingly bore our sins in His body when He was crucified for us, and endured the curse of God against and for all sin. Jesus died, “for the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) Jesus died and was buried. But the Scriptures which we read in our Scripture lesson this morning were fulfilled! The prophecy of the psalms was fulfilled in Christ. God would not let His Holy One see corruption! Jesus rose again the third day. Jesus rose and reveals the reality of resurrection. Life is not an endless cycle of lives seeking to attain something better when there is nothing better to be found in the flesh. That false hope ended when God closed the door to paradise so that fallen man could not eat of the tree of life and live in this corruption of sin forever.
Jesus saved us from sin’s corruption and in His resurrection brings us new life. We already possess that life right now through faith in His name! We have been begotten again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
This hope is real and certain. So many of our hopes fade as we get on in years. It doesn’t take too long before we come to the realization that our hope of being a professional athlete isn’t really in the cards. That is a fine example of a fanciful hope isn’t it? We try to replace such fanciful hopes with more realistic hopes. Success in life. A secure home. Maybe a good job brings some glimmer of hope for a better future, but then a pandemic arises and the job is gone, or one’s business is threatened, or one’s own health is in peril. The mother of a friend died from this Covid -19 just yesterday. In the world that’s hope fading away.
Not so with Christ centered hope. This is a hope that cannot fade away because it isn’t earthbound, and it certainly isn’t fanciful! It is reserved in heaven for you. Yes, your spot in heaven is secure. Jesus promised on the night before He went to the cross that He was going to prepare a place for you. He promised that He would come again and receive us to Himself so that we would be with Him where He is! His resurrection proves resurrection is real. His promise repeated so often throughout the gospels is that He will call us forth from the graves. Our resurrection is as real and certain as Jesus’ resurrection. Our hope is built upon Jesus’ resurrection, and that is unchangeable fact.
No matter what comes our way in this life we have —
II. Hope in the Face of Trials.
Again Peter grounds us in our faith in Christ.
1 Peter 1:6-7 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
For the Christian hope and joy of heart go together. I’m not saying that life won’t have its trying days. Indeed Peter is saying the exact opposite. He is preparing the children of God for the trials and tribulations of life. There are going to days when there will be tears. There are going to be days when we will be severely tried. What those days prove isn’t what the world would have us believe, that God has failed us. What those trials prove is that this sin corrupted world fails, and this life shall never be perfect. Christ endures, and so our faith in Christ endures. Even if we are tried in the fires of tribulation, our faith shall be purified, for we will lean more and more on the Lord, and less and less on the perishable things of this world in this life.
Our faith is more precious than gold! Our faith shall not disappoint. It will be found in tact and to the praise of our Savior Jesus when He reveals Himself in glory at the last day.
We are going through some trials in America. Leaders in government on both the state and federal levels are trying to make the best out of a difficult situation. It seems that they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They take action to save lives from a pandemic, only to see the lives of millions put in danger of financial ruin. Many people are at the point of despair. For the child of God all this couldn’t come at a better time of year than when we are focused on the reality and the grace of Jesus’ resurrection. With the resurrection we are presented with the balm that heals our souls. We absolutely have hope. We have —
III. Hope for What Matters Most – Salvation!
We look for —
1 Peter 1:7c-9 “the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.”
Remember what Luther wrote in the hymn “A mighty Fortress?” “And take they our life, Goods, fame, child, and wife. Let these all be gone, they yet have nothing won; The Kingdom ours remaineth.”
(The Lutheran Hymnal 262:4)
These weren’t just words that Martin Luther wrote. It was a confession of faith! Luther lived through the plague. Luther watched people die. Luther lost children to death. Luther lived under the ban, was declared outlaw! None of that changed the joy of the hope that he had in Christ as his risen Savior! Through all the trials of life we possess the absolute assurance that comes with knowing that our Redeemer lives! We already know that Christ has brought us the salvation of our souls.
That is what a real and living hope does for us. It isn’t simply tranquility, although we do know peace, peace of conscience, because we know we have peace with God. We also know the outcome of our lives. In the face of sadness and even pain we still know the joy of sins forgiven and we rejoice in the hope of eternal life that is our in Christ Jesus, our Crucified, risen and ever-living Lord. And so we sing our “Hallelujahs” with joy in our hearts to the Lord!
AMEN.
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Amen. (Romans15:13)