Tag: exchange

Baptism: Exchange and Unification

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Biblical Text: Matthew 3:13-17, Romans 6:1-11

Today was a confluence of events. We had a baptism in the service. It also was the Baptism of Jesus on the church calendar. So it was the perfect confluence for something of a teaching sermon. Just what is baptism. Textually there are two different Baptisms in the Bible. There is the baptism of John or the washings of the Israelites. Neither of these really have command in the Old Testament. They are outward rituals. Yet Jesus shows up and submits to that outward ritual. He does so to fulfill all righteousness, to empower his baptism that we practice. A baptism that does have the promises of God attached to it. Luther’s catechism as always is succinct. And this sermon leans on it throughout. But those promises of God that are in those waters of baptism revolve around two ideas. The first is the exchange. Jesus, the lamb of God, takes our sin, while we receive his righteousness. That is the exchange. But Paul’s explanation around baptism is deeper. In baptism we have been unified to Christ. We have been buried with him such that we might also rise with him. The sermon attempts to present these concepts.

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Wrath for Trust


Biblical Text: John 11:1-46
Full Sermon Draft

The text contains a couple of staple funeral texts. They are more than that, but it is that connection that is part of this meditation. The greatest of the “I AM” statements is the first text – “I am the Resurrection and the Life”. The shortest verse in the bible, “Jesus wept”, is the second. Both of these are part of the larger story of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. And the repeated line is theirs. “If you had been here, our brother would not have died.”

This sermon is a personal reflection on those words. I hope that it carries the gospel.

Worship Note: Two points. First, we got our new organ this week. I believe you might he a much clearer sound. Second, today was a good day to sing some of the great Lenten hymns. The one I left in the recording is LSB 435, Come to Calvary’s Holy Mountain. I believe it carries the themes of resurrection and the life, a God who keeps his promises.

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