This sermon was preached on 10/18/09 at Our Savior. It is the second in a series called “Love Takes Time,” which is a stewardship emphasis on our use of time. The sermon text and series title were produced by the WELS for congregations to use as a stewardship emphasis. The sermon itself, though, is my own work.
Love Takes Time…with the Body of Christ
Well, how close are we? Maybe we're not quite ready to call ourselves the perfect congregation yet. In fact, every one of us, from me the pastor to the youngest or oldest or newest member -- we all have to admit that our own actions have made this congregation less than perfect. We've complained. We've divided instead of united. We've grumbled about the work to be done. We've let someone else do it all. We've taken our brothers and sisters in Christ for granted. We've failed to talk about our Savior to those we know. We've ignored the needy and the community. Perfect? We're not close to perfect.
So how do we get there? Obviously when we think of things that aren't perfect, we want to fix them. But how? Do we start all sorts of new programs and classes and then "strongly urge" people to come to them? Maybe we start requiring a certain level of church attendance, and if they don't live up to it; they're gone. Maybe we could invest in a laser-light show style worship to keep things exciting around here and keep people fired up. The problem is, those solutions might cause more harm than good.
And then we look at the early Christian church from our text in Acts and we really start wondering how we could live up to their standards. The early Christians didn't just go to church when they felt like it; we hear that "they devoted themselves" (Acts 2:42) to public worship. And in addition to that, "Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles." (Acts 2:43) Hmm. I'm not sure how we'll pull that off.
Outside of worship, the Christians were constantly together. "All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." (Acts 2:44-45) Think of the generosity we're talking about here. They share everything with each other, and if anyone needs anything, they give it. Wow! It makes me realize how much of my own stuff I want to keep for myself. How about you?
Those early Christians also had some pretty amazing fellowship with each other. "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:46-47) This wasn't a "see you next Sunday" kind of fellowship. Their lives were completely devoted to each other because they were all devoted to their Savior. And we think, how could we keep up with that! Guess we'll need a lot more sign-up sheets...
But the idea of trying to be the perfect church or somehow trying to keep up with the early Christian church in Acts 2 is an idea that takes us in the wrong direction. It focuses on us, instead of where our focus should be. You might remember that one of the names that the Bible gives for the Christian Church is the body of Christ. Jesus has ascended into heaven, but he still rules all things for the church, which is his body. (Eph. 1:22-23) To be a better church, a better congregation, we can't focus on programs or results. We can only focus on our head, on the only one who can bring us together -- we look, appropriately, to our Savior.
See, with all the amazing things that the early Christian church did there in Acts, it's easy to forget how they got there. That's the beginning of our text. It takes us to the day of Pentecost, and to Peter preaching a sermon to a huge crowd of people. As our text starts, the crowd is stunned. It says, "When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart." (Acts 2:37) But you have to go back a verse to see what they heard.
It was Peter uttering the most devastating words -- and the most comforting words -- ever spoken: "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36)
No wonder the crowd was cut to the heart. They had killed the Savior. They thought he was an impostor. They'd been convinced that he was a troublemaker, and when the opportunity came to get rid of him; they took it.
Oh sure, not every one of the thousands of people Peter was talking to was directly involved in Jesus' death. Maybe they didn't all arrest him or flog him or spit on him or drive the nails into his hands and feet. But they did all kill him. They killed him with their sins, with their lies, with their hatred, with their unbelief.
And the worst part of it is, so did you. Yes, everyone at Our Savior Lutheran Church, I have news for you: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. Yes, you crucified him. No, you didn't hammer in the nails or crack the whip or thrust the spear. But you have sinned. You have put up roadblocks to the unity of your fellow Christians. You have taken your Christian family for granted. You've treated the Good News like old news. And each sin put Jesus on that cross. For each sin Jesus suffered hell.
So like the crowd on Pentecost, we ask, "What shall we do?" (Acts 2:37) Where can we go with this guilt we feel? The answer we need is the same one Peter gave: "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:38-39)
Just about everyone here has already been baptized, but the power is just as real for us now! Repent. Look at your sins and turn from them. Then turn to Jesus. Turn to the Holy Spirit's power given you in your baptism. There you will find forgiveness. There you will find that your sins have been washed away. Your baptism connects you to Jesus' death (Rom. 6:3). The very death your sins brought Jesus is the same death that Jesus used to take away your sins! You are right with God again! You want to be renewed spiritually? You want new life breathed into our church, into our congregation? Look to your baptism! The Holy Spirit is still at work in you, renewing you and building you up.
And in the same way our worship here together as a body of Christ builds us up, too. It's so easy to think of these services as just words, just a little ritual that we go through. It can be so automatic and thoughtless and we can make it mean nothing by our carelessness. But it isn't nothing. Every word and action in our services point to Jesus. Every word of Good News from the Bible is a gift from God that builds up our faith, that the Holy Spirit uses for our good. You want to renew the Church, come here to worship with hearts ready to repent of your sins, with ears ready to hear with joy the Good News of Christ, and with mouths ready to confess and sing your Maker's praise!
That's what the early church did in Acts. They weren't so different than we are! "They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." The Apostles' teaching -- that's like how we hear and learn God's Word here at church. Fellowship --that's the time we spend together as brothers and sisters in Christ. The breaking of bread -- that can be eating together, like we often do, or -- more likely -- it refers to receiving Jesus' body and blood with the bread and wine in the Lord's Supper, another incredible gift we receive! Prayer -- we do that too, as we pray to God in thanks and in requests with boldness and confidence that he hears us because of his Son!
So, no, we're not the perfect church. Sure, we have sins and problems and struggles. But we also have a Savior! We have a Savior who loved us so much that he took all of our sins, all of our problems and our struggles, and he bore their burden on the cross. He's forgiven us, and he wants us to cast our cares on him.
And you know what? He will bless us. He will bless us as we take the time to go back to the very means that he has promised to bless us in. Return to your baptism and the real power of the Holy Spirit working in you. Return to the Word and Sacraments proclaiming your forgiveness in so many different ways in these worship services.
When we do that, our love will grow. Whether we look just like that early Christian church or not is beside the point. Our love will grow as Christ's love grows in our hearts. Yes, love takes time. But we as the body of Christ will continue to grow in Christ's love, and his love will shine out for us more and more as Christians, as a congregation, and as his church.
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