Sermons

So how are your relationships? Those of you that are married, how's your marriage going? How's your relationship with your children? For each of you, how's your relationship with your parents? How's your relationship with your co-workers? Neighbors? Social acquaintances? God has certainly blessed us with many earthly relationships. But if you are real honest with yourself, is everything working well in each of those relationships? But before we discuss that in-depth too much. How about your relationship with Christ? When people look at an earthly relationship which is not working well or try to deal with a way in which sin has invaded their lives, the often fall into the temptation If I worker harder and throw myself into it things will improve. The Apostle John speaks to us about all that in the broader context of Living As Children of God. To help us understand that, John put it in the scope of something which we know well, the most familiar symbol of our Christian faith, the cross. The vertical part of the cross reminds us where we must start. First we need to understand our relationship with God. And then the horizontal portion of the cross reminds us to living in fellowship with God and one another. We read again v. 3 of our second lesson from John's first Epistle chapter 1. I. Understand your fellowship with God Did you ever stop to consider how much time each week you put into your earthly relationships? Parents, how much time do you spend each week parenting those children your heavenly Father has entrusted to you? How much time do you put into working on your marriage? Employers, did you ever stop Now look on the other side and ask yourself how much time do you spend each week working on your relationship with your heavenly Father and your spiritual brother and Savior, Jesus? Would they balance out? Might you realize that you spend a good part of your week on your earthly relationships and not much on the spiritual side? For some, this is the only hour each week which they spend working on their relationship with God. John reminds us that if we want to be able to live our lives as children of God, if we want to be able to find and have peace and harmony, it needs to begin by understanding the fellowship and relationship we have with God. He warns us, "If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth". Is your relationship with God really what you claim it is? Do we live and speak in the truth? John's words also remind us that when we fail to live and speak the truth "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Our God is a loving God who wants us to live in fellowship with him. That is why he invites us to share that fellowship through regular use of the Word and Sacraments and the assurance of forgiveness. II. Live in fellowship with him and each other Once we know and understand that fellowship and relationship we have with God, John urges us to also live in that fellowship, not only with God, but also with one another. In the last part of Galatians chapter 5 the Apostle Paul speaks of the fruits of the Spirit, "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control". What better way for us to live in fellowship with others than to ask God's help to practice those virtues in our lives. To show patience with our children when they continually fail to listen to us would be showing patience and forgiveness as a part of living in fellowship. To smother with kindness that coworker who does everything they can to get under our skin would be living in fellowship with that person. To restrain our tongue or ask God's help to resist that sin which seems to keep on rearing it's ugly head in our lives are ways of practicing self-control. But John's words not only speak about these virtues. John also reminds us "if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." Living in fellowship with God and each other also means dealing with sin in the attitude of forgiveness. If we sin, are we willing to go to a person and say "I'm sorry" and ask for forgiveness. Also, If someone sins against us, do we practice that fellowship by going to them in love to point out the sin and work to lead them to forgiveness? In our Gospel lesson (Luke 24:36-49) we heard our Savior tell us "you are my witnesses". What a wonderful way to be a witness of our risen Savior, be living in that fellowship with others and letting our words and actions be witnesses of what it means to live like a child of God. CONCLUSION Among the many favorite hymns of Christians is Blest Be the Tie that Binds. The hymnwriter begins "Blest Be the Tie that Binds our hearts in Christian love" and then he continues "the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above". In one short, succinct statement the hymnwriter captures what John speaks of here, if we want to have fellowship here and strengthen those earthly relationships, it begins above, a proper relationship with and understanding out relationship with our heavenly Father and Savior and Brother, Jesus. I pray that each one of you, through continued study of the Word and frequent use of the Sacrament may grow to more deeply understand and appreciate your fellowship relationship with your heavenly Father and may that lead you to, in turn live out the rest of your days in fellowship with him and each other. That will enable us to truly live as children of God. Amen.