Today we celebrate the first Sunday after the Epiphany of our Lord. This means it is the Baptism of our Lord Sunday. This is the Sunday when we see Jesus beginning his ministry with his baptism in the Jordan by John. It is especially exciting to see the way God the Father and the Holy Spirit are present at the beginning of his earthly ministry. We hear God the Father rip the heavens open and declare: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased!" We see the Spirit descend like a dove and realize that the Lord Jesus is who he was proclaimed to be by the Angels outside of Bethlehem and by the Magi and be Anna and Simeon etc... We see proof of the words he said to his parents at age 12 when they found him in the temple "I would be in my Father's house."
Today we will be looking at the words of Isaiah the prophet whose name means the "Lord Saves" tells us in chapter 43 who we are as ones that have baptized with Christ (Romans 6).
43 But now, this is what the Lord says—
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush[a] and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
and people in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
When we hear these powerful words of Isaiah 43:7 "everyone who is called by my name whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made!" This ties us to the events of Jesus' Baptism in the Jordan! Can you hear the words of the Father speaking to you "YOU ARE MY CHILD, WHOM I LOVE, WITH WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED!" Because of our Lord's ministry, his death, his resurrection from the tomb and his ascension to the right hand of God we can hear these words said to us! WHAT A HUGE BLESSING! Satan hates it when we know who we are and how we belong to God in Christ! Our sinful nature wants us to think we are either too bad for this to be true, or we can earn these words. These words are pure, true, love-filled, absolute GRACE! May we hear this "manifestation" or "epiphany" of the Father's LOVE this Sunday. Let us always know and trust that we are those called by HIS name, whom HE created for HIS Glory and whom HE formed and made! This is WHO WE ARE. PRAISE THE LORD!
Blessings in Christ our Savior and Lord,
Pastor Bryan
Interesting in being a "member" of the Cross and Res Family?
You BELONG to God by simply trusting in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, therefore you are already part of the family. But as we move forward in our relationship as disciples of Jesus we formalize this relationship with "membership."
We BELONG, then we BELIEVE: This is a class I used to call "Life with God." It is what Lutherans Believe and what we specifically believe here. This moves us to BECOME: at the end of this class you will be a "member" and invited to lead in the area of your strongest gifts.
We are planning to have this class from 12:15-2:15 every Sunday starting on January 27th until we finish, usually 6 weeks. This is a casual environment and we will have child care.
Let me know if you can make it.
I can't wait to be able to spend time with you all!
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