Rev. Dale Critchley 12/30/03

Rev. Dale Critchley 4/4/2018

Children’s Sermon Catechetical point: How many Gods are there? (1) But God is three persons. Who are they? (F,S,HS) We use the word “Trinity” to describe God. That means He is Three in One. Message: And all of God loves you. God the Father sent the Sdon to die for you, and the Holy Spirit gave you faith in your Baptism to know and trust in Jesus to save you from sin and give you eternal life.

Trinity & Truth

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Text: (John 16:12-15) “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

I. Introduction A. By now, school is out 1. Most students have completed their coursework and are moving on to the next grade 2. Graduation parties continue to acknowledge the acquired knowledge and accomplishments of the graduates B. But Graduation is not an ending—the word “graduate” refers to moving to another stage, in this case, of learning 1. Any high school graduate can be told by a college graduate that they have more to learn. 2. College graduates may be told by those with advanced degrees that they have more to learn. 3. And those with advanced degrees, if they’ve learned anything in all their schooling, ought to know by then that they have only scratched the surface of the extent of knowledge available C. Jesus takes a similar approach to His disciples in today’s text 1. He lets them know, on the eve of His death, that they have more to learn 2. And He also makes it clear that He will instruct them according to their needs

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II. I still have much more to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. A. God’s Word is simple enough for a child to understand, yet complex enough that some professors spend their entire lives focussing on and dissecting a single passage. B. Jesus had already revealed to the disciples everything they needed to know 1. And yet, there was more to learn 2. Because even though they had the information, only by growth produced by the Holy Spirit would they come to a greater understanding and faith in Jesus’ words 3. And only by His death and resurrection can we make sense of any of it 4. Because any discussion of God’s relationship to us can only be fully understood in the context of the cross and the empty tomb

III. But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you in all truth, because He will not speak from Himself, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will report to you what is to come. A. Everything that Jesus said makes no sense to an unbeliever 1. They call Him a good teacher 2. They say all kinds of things about Him 3. But only in the context of faith may they see Him for what He is: our Lord and Savior B. This is only possible through the Holy Spirit’s work in us 1. Because of our sin, we are spiritually dead a) As dead men, we are unable to raise ourselves b) When you’re dead, you can’t decide to come to life 2. But the Holy Spirit chose you to be raised to the life of faith a) So you are able to see the wisdom of God b) You can see past the world’s wisdom c) And you can see truth 3. We live in a world of moral relativism a) What’s considered right for you may not be right for someone else b) While that’s fine for ice cream flavors, morality is something completely different (1) If everyone can decided what is right and wrong, we have no need for prisons, military, or police, or any government at all, for that matter c) The ten commandments would be unnecessary

(1) But history shows us over and over what happens in the absence of a strong government dedicated to upholding right and punishing evil (2) Truly, when God gave us the moral code He gave us, including writing it on our hearts, He knew what He was doing d) God didn’t give us a truth—He gave us the truth (1) Not only the truth of right and wrong (2) But the truth of the consequences of sin—death and hell (3) And inseparable from the truth of death is the truth of eternal life in Christ (a) We don’t seek goodness in order to live up to God’s expectations (b) We don’t treasure God’s will out of fear of punishment (c) And we don’t love God because He demands it (d) We do all those things because of what He has already done for us (i) He sought goodness even though it couldn’t be found in us, only in Himself (ii) He treasured God’s will even when it meant bearing our sins on the cross—because it was indeed God’s will for His Son to suffer and die for us (iii) He loved us enough to face God’s wrath full- force in our stead, out of obedience to God and love for us at the same time

IV. He will glorify Me, since He will take from Mine and report it to you. A. The Holy Spirit teaches us the mystery of what Christ has done for us 1. That at just the right time, God became a man 2. And that God-man, Jesus the Christ, lived the perfect life that we time and again fail so miserably at. 3. And instead of claiming the reward of eternal life for His perfect obedience, He handed that reward over to us by taking the penalty for our rebellion on Himself B. How can this be, that God could become man and die? 1. God doesn’t require you to understand the process 2. In fact, He requires nothing from you—He required it of Jesus in your stead 3. Rather, He gives you faith through His Gospel and sacraments to believe in this completely undeserved gift of eternal life 4. And what a joy and a blessing a) To know that our time together is not short

b) That all with faith in Christ have eternity to spend together

V. That our only urgency is praying for and sharing this good news with others, whether our closest friends and family, strangers in foreign lands, or our worst enemies, that they too may enjoy this gift with us

VI. All that the Father has are Mine. Therefore, I said that He takes of Mine and will declare it to you. A. Today, on Trinity Sunday, we celebrate God’s revelation of love to us B. That He has revealed His nature as one God in three persons to us C. Each Person of the Trinity is entirely dedicated to His creation, you and me 1. Creating us 2. Buying us back 3. And making us complete D. God has given His glory to His Son E. And the Spirit has given the Son’s glory to you F. By your Baptism, He has made you His Son G. And God the Father loves you as much as His only-begotten Son H. And He has bought and prepared a place for you with Him for eternity I. And He has given it to you freely in Christ

VII. And that is the truth in Jesus’ name. Amen. Now the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen. Rechecking: Pastoral Context: Cover challenges needed to be heard? Liturgical context: season theme & mood Defines liturgical form? Preaching Christ or about Christ? Linguistic: Teach a new word? Cultural: Link w/ a current event? Buzzword/mnemonic: Is it art?