This Sunday, August 28, is the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost.
This week’s sermon is Lutheran Worship: Receiving the Sacrament
This week’s readings are:
Living in the Light of Christ
I. The
children are crowned kings and queens of Narnia.
A. This is Aslan’s
calling for them.
B. He
appointed them for this work to serve his beasts in Narnia by ruling
them.
II.
There continues to be struggle between good and evil in Narnia.
A. “At first much
of their time was spent in seeking out the remnants of the White Witch’s army
and destroying them, and indeed for a long time there would be news of evil
things lurking in the wilder parts of the forest ….”
B. We continue
to engage in struggles as Christians.
i. Some
Christians call this “spiritual warfare.”
ii. Often
this is overhyped and wrongly focused.
C. This is a
reality of the Christian life.
i. Repentance
– living in Jesus’ forgiveness, our hearts are turned from the ways of the
devil, the world and our sinful nature.
ii. Notice
though – the Kings and Queens use their gifts to do good for
the Narnians.
iii. They are
servants of Aslan and operate in his strength.
D. The Lord’s
Prayer gives us excellent examples of how we live in this struggle as we pray:
i. Thy
will be done, [and]
ii. Deliver
us from evil.
iii. See Luther's explanation of
these petitions in the Small Catechism for an accurate picture of who fights in
"spiritual warfare."
III. The kings and queens seek to live according
to Aslan’s expectations.
A. They act “In the
name of Aslan,” even as Christians live and pray, “in the name of Jesus.”
i. We
love God for the sake of Christ (propter Christum).
ii. We love
our neighbor for the sake of Christ (propter Christum).
IV. Nevertheless, our performance is not our
confidence – our confidence is in Christ.
A. He frees us to
live.
i. The
professor’s admonition – “Do not try to get back to Narnia.”
1. Christians
are called to live in this world, not escape
from it.
2. We
are “the light of the world.” – Matthew 5:14-16
ii. Live in
this world in such a way that shows our hope in Jesus’ salvation.
1. For
God’s glory – He saved a sinner like you!
2. For
your neighbor – that they, too, may believe in Jesus, “and by believing receive
life in His name.” – John 20:31
iii. We trust that
Jesus is coming again to take us to be with Him.
iv. In the
meantime, we live with confidence and peace because of Jesus’ . . .
1. Love.
2. Salvation.
3. Ability
to work in and through our lives – even despite our failures to live up to His
calling.
4. Good
and gracious plan for the adventure of our lives.
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