Home at Last Scripture: Isaiah 9:6-7

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Merry Christmas! We’ve made it, friends.

We’ve made it! It’s finally here, with the presents, the food, the family traditions, and the precious memories we get to make.  Now, I don’t want to rain on our Christmas Day parade, but if past Christmases are any indication, we should be honest: this day is going to fly by. The magic of the moment always feels so fleeting, doesn’t it?  

Which is why it’s good for us to remember that while the celebration may feel transient, the gift we’ve received today in the birth of Jesus is anything but. What he brings with his arrival is a Kingdom (which is nothing other than our true Home) that is good, that is growing, and that is, best of all, unending.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6). The Home Jesus has established in his arrival—and into which you’ve been welcomed through your baptism—is better than even the best moments of today Yes, Christmas Day may feel as though it’s already slipping through our hands, but the Household of Jesus, the Kingdom of Christ, will continue to expand, and it will last forever.

And here’s the part we often overlook: you are a part of that enduring work, that unending Kingdom. You, by virtue of your baptism and your identity as God’s chosen child, are part of what Jesus has established and what he promises to uphold forever. You might wonder, “How can that possibly be true, with all the evil and decay I see around me and at work within me?” It’s true because this same Jesus, born on Christmas Day, is at work this Christmas morning, and every morning, renewing, restoring, and revitalizing you.

So yes, the cinnamon rolls will get eaten. The wrapping paper will be tossed. The tree will drop needles, and eventually, the decorations will come down. Like every year before, this day, this beautiful, chaotic, joy-filled Christmas morning, will pass. Because that’s what happens with good things in this life: they come to an end. But not the ultimate gift of Christmas. This King and his Kingdom, this Prince of Peace and the Home he’s establishing, is the one good thing that doesn’t fade, spoil, or slip through your fingers.

Remember, on the Christian calendar, Christmas isn’t just a day. It’s a season! Christmas has twelve days to savor the songs, stretch out the celebration, and keep the joy going. Twelve days to remind yourself that what we’ve received is something that lasts. So let your joy linger. Let your praise keep rising. Because in Jesus’s House, Christmas has only just begun. And the party never ends.  Merry Christmas. Amen.

No Place Like Home Scripture: Isaiah 55:1-5

What’s your favorite Christmas comfort food, the go-to holiday treat you can’t wait to dive into? Is it the spread of homemade cookies: snickerdoodles, gingerbread snaps, and those irresistible rice crispy treats? Maybe it’s the popcorn; you know, the caramel and cheese kind that comes in that giant tin. Or perhaps you’re more into the savory stuff: grandma’s glazed ham, your husband’s famous sweet potato casserole. When it comes to food, there really is no place like home during the holidays.

It’s a fitting way that Scripture speaks of the arrival of Jesus with images of food and feasting. God’s people–who’ve been entrenched in a centuries-long struggle with conquest, exile, and the fallout of their unfaithfulness are called to envision a day when the promised Savior-King finally arrives. According to Isaiah, this King will come with an invitation to a marketplace overflowing with life-giving nourishment, a buffet of truly satisfying foods. “Come, everyone who thirsts,” the prophet proclaims (Isa. 55:1).

Throughout time the religious thought of mankind has been centered on the fact that mankind must somehow strive for salvation, to earn your place at the table of your god. That’s what makes the work of Isaiah King so astounding. Isaiah tells us, “Come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isa. 55:1–2). How can this be? Is it free because it’s worthless? No–it’s free because it’s already been paid for. No payment is needed, assumed, or accepted. It’s a gift, plain and simple. Its amazing Grace.

It’s true, isn’t it? You long to be right with God, to be seen, known, and approved by the One who made you. But instead, you reach for second-rate food. You chase the applause of your peers, hoping it will satisfy. You idolize your children, living through their grades and goals, hoping that will make you feel full. You spend time and money on what Isaiah would call “bad bread.” You toil for food that does not satisfy, forgetting that what you truly hunger for you already have, in full, in Christ.

This time of year, it feels like there’s a feast waiting on every dining room table and every kitchen island piled high with snacks and sweets. And it’s the best, isn’t it? But don’t forget it’s just a glimpse of what’s already yours in Jesus. Jesus has paid for our eternal life. And in faith we have a place at God’s table where we may enjoy all the blessings that God wishes to share with us not just this Christmas, but forever.

May we enjoy these glimpses, drawing deep comfort from them, such as when we gather around the Lord’s table in Holy Communion. In that feast of Jesus’ flesh and blood we commune not only with Christ himself, but we are delivered to God’s eternal table—in the here and now!—around which sits the church we see but also the saints we miss: your spouse, your son, your best friend, your grandmother. We can dine together as family, today, in a foretaste of the unending celebration to come.

Friends: Christ has come to make his home with us, and with him comes a feast like no other: free, satisfying, overflowing with promise, and meant to be shared. And there's a seat at the table for you! Let us enjoy it. Because it’s true—when it comes to food, there really is no place like home. Amen.

A Home Unbroken

Isaiah 66:18-23

For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and

tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them…..

“For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord,

so shall your offspring and your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from

Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me,” declares the Lord.

One of the best parts about being home for the holidays is being surrounded by family. There’s

something deeply comforting about having the kids at home, nieces and nephews running

around, and aunts and uncles filling every corner of the house. It’s a blessing.

But if we’re being honest, being surrounded by family is also one of the most difficult parts of

the holidays. Like any good gift, the blessing of family comes with more than a few burdens. The

people who love you the most, and know you the best, also have the ability to aggravate, annoy,

and wound you like no other. No one can cut deeper or bring you to tears faster than someone

you love.

It’s hard to admit, especially in a season where we try to lean into the warm and fuzzy, but family

life is often tangled with tension. And being home for the holidays has a way making celebrating

Christmas, well, kind of complicated.

It’s important to remember that what we anticipate in Advent and look forward to at Christmas is

not just the birth of Jesus, but also the return of Jesus. The same Jesus who arrived in weakness

on Christmas morning to save the world from sin and death has promised that he will come again

in glory, to raise the dead to new life and to re-create the world. And in that re-created world, in

the new and everlasting Home he’s preparing for us, all that’s bad and broken in our earthly

families will be made right.

In the closing chapters of Isaiah’s sweeping prophecy, the prophet lifts his eyes toward that

future, painting a vivid picture of the Home the long-awaited Savior-King will establish at the

end of time. It’s a Home overflowing with the very gifts that those wounded by sin-soiled

relationships long to receive. Isaiah describes a world marked by justice for the wronged,

reconciliation in even the most broken relationships, and joyful unity with your forever family.

Friends, the Jesus who came once at Christmas will come again. And when he does, he will bring

you home to a feast that truly satisfies, to a family without fracture, and to a joy that never fades.

And on that day, your praise, your peace, and your Home will be unbroken. Amen.

The Longing for Home

Fort the next several weeks our message will be taken from a selection of sermon written by Pastor Matt Popovits. These messages will form the bases for the midweek theme and sermon during our Advent season. Here is a preview of your invitation to come home for Christmas here at St. Peter’s  

The Longing for Home
Isaiah 11:1-10

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,

Welcome to the busiest time of the year. In the days and weeks leading up to Christmas, we are all over the place. We spend long hours at work. We have the obligatory parties, school performances, Advent services at church, and a terribly long list of errands to run. In the run-up to Christmas, we are bouncing here, there, and everywhere, spending time far from the one place we long to be. And where is it that we want to be at Christmas? You know the answer: home. We all just want to be home at Christmas, with no agenda other than enjoyment, dwelling with the people we love the most in the place that brings us peace.

The Promise of Home

And this is what makes the true story of Christmas so amazing, so worthy of our attention. Christmas says that exile in our sin isn’t the end of the story. God is coming to bring you home. To him, you have been restored, with him, you have been reunited, and in him, you have rest. He brings us from our sin-earned exile and makes us to dwell with him. He is our home.

The God Who Leaves Home

Mary and Joseph were on a road trip for a census. And then it’s suddenly time for Jesus to be born, and they cannot find a house but are stuck with a stable. Their child is not simply a child chosen by God to rescue his people, but is the incarnate, enfleshed Son of God himself. He is coeternal with the Father, “very God of very God,” born as one of us to save us. Talk about far from home.

Redeeming Hurry
There’s no getting around the busyness of the holidays. You’re going to spend more time in the car than on the couch. That’s life. But there may be a way to redeem it. Maybe all that movement can be a reminder of what this season is about. May every ache for home remind you of the One who left his throne for you. May it remind you that this world—with its busyness—is not our home. But in Jesus, our true home is not far off. It’s come to us. And one day, soon, we will dwell in it fully and forever.

Praying with Confidence

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, He hears us

1 John 5 verse 14

The best way to ascertain whether prayer is answered is to try it. The testimony of thousands of Christians bear witness to the fact that God hears us as we call upon him in the day of trouble. For this reason, the scriptures urge us to be diligent in prayer. Since most of us are daily facing vexing and trying problems, we are often discouraged and disheartened. Yet we have at our very door a power that can accomplish mighty things for us. Therefore, Saint John writes: “this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” to pray successfully, we must pray with confidence.

To pray with confidence, we must be certain that we are addressing the right person. The Bible tells us to pray to the Lord of heaven and earth, who has revealed himself in the scriptures. God alone can hear our prayers, and to him we should go. If I am sick, I call a physician and not a lawyer. The lawyer may offer me legal advice, yes, he may even give me some hints on health. But when I am critically ill, I go to a trusted physician and let him examine me and prescribe something for me. If I want my prayers to accomplish something, I must go to God, the true and living God, who has spoken to me through his divine word.

To pray with confidence, we must furthermore be certain that we are addressing this our Lord God in the right manner. “This is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, “He hears us.” To pray according to his will, we must pray in humility of heart. The man or woman who struts into the presence of the Lord, proud and haughty, finds the door closed. The scriptures say, “a broken and a contrite heart, Oh God, you will not despise.”

To pray with confidence, we must also be certain that we are addressing the Lord God about the right things. When I know that I am asking for the right things, then I can be certain that he hears me. Now, there are certain things which positively oppose the will of God. In His Word He tells me that they are sinful. They are harmful to my body and dangerous to my soul. On the other hand, I know that there are certain things that God desires very much. He wants all mankind to be saved. “as I live says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turned from his way and live.”

When God wants us to pray for spiritual things. He wants you and me to pray for ourselves that we may grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. We are to ask God to fill us with patience in the days of sickness, with cheerfulness admit adversities, and fill with faith throughout the week then we know in all confidence that our God, will, "hears us.”

Prayer

Lord, heavenly Father, I approach you today, asking You to let your grace and your mercy rest upon me. Assure me of your divine presence. In your tender mercy forgive me all my sins with which I have grieved you and fill me with the blessed peace which comes to all believers. Let me grow in grace and in the knowledge of my Lord and savior Jesus Christ. In Jesus name we pray Amen.

Prayer Opens The Door

Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Luke 11, verse 9.

Jesus urges us to pray. We are not merely to ask to God now and then, but to be persistent in prayer. Therefore, Jesus says knock. “Which of you”, he urges, “shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say to him, Friend, lend me loaves. For a friend of mine is in his journey, has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him. And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not, the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed, I cannot rise and give you. I say unto you, though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his insistence, He will rise and give him as many as he needs.

In short Jesus is saying in this text that if you and I give beggars something merely to get rid of them, how much more will God give us what we need if we plead and beg as His children? Therefore, Jesus says, Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

The Lord invites you to come to Him with all your problems, cares, and worries. You can always come, knocking at the door in prayer, and He will open.

On the other hand, we are to knock at the door and ask for help ourselves. We are to make known to Him our needs. We are to seek His help both for body and soul. Physical hunger we feel at once. Many of us, however, do not long for spiritual food for the soul. However, Jesus encourages us to seek first God's help for the needs of the soul, and He will likewise give us daily bread to support and sustain our body.

We are also encouraged to knock at the door and ask for others. The Bible speaks of making intercession for all men. That is, we are to pray for others. Our prayers should be all embracing the world in our field of prayer. One moment we can pray for some missionary pleading with God to encourage him in the performing of his difficult tasks, and the next moment we can pray for some lost soul living next door.

Whether we pray for ourselves or for others. Christ Jesus gives us the assurance it shall be opened unto you. The Lord hears our prayers. How encouraging to us in the days of troubles and trials. This promise fills us with hope. This promise teaches us to pray diligently and then wait upon the Lord with confidence. Let us continue instantly in our prayers. Always knocking know that in grace and mercy Jesus will answer.

We pray.

Gracious and merciful Father, I come to you as the very present help in trouble. You have promised to open the door to me as I pray. You have given me blessed assurance that you will abide with me whenever all other comforts fail. Lord, I put my trust in you. I ask you and seek you forsake me not. I am unworthy of divine grace. I am mindful of my many sins, but Lord, according to Your grace, blot them out and remember them no more. Created in me a clean heart and renew in me a right spirit that I may daily seek you in prayer and live in blessed communion with you and with my neighbors. Protect us from all dangers of body and soul. Let’s not the cares and worries of life rob me of my hope. In Jesus name. Amen.

Making My Prayers Count.

The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5:16b.

 God's children of all ages have prayed. Only as we become older and get caught up in the things of the world that our prayers become careless and indifferent about our soul salvation. In sinful distraction our prayers become mere forms and if we are not careful, we will cease to pray altogether. Yet, in faith we understand that prayer accomplishes much. Following Christ we learn that as God answers our prayers, He give us strength to face the trials of life and to withstand the temptations of Satan. If only we would come to Him as a child comes to their loving father.

 In prayer, God calls upon us to be fervent in speaking to Him. What is a fervent prayer? A fervent prayer is a heartfelt prayer. It rises from the depths of our innermost soul and is stripped of all pretenses. Such prayer is made thoughtfully. We do not hasten to the throne of God and make our requests at random. We consider first what we are going to say. As we call upon God we remember to whom we pray. God is the creator of the heaven and earth. Yet, at the same time he is our heavenly father who loves each of us. Understanding this we do not let our words fall from our lips thoughtlessly. In prayer we are calling upon the King of kings. Therefore, we should give much thought to the things that we want to take up to Him.

If we pray thoughtfully, then we should have something specific in mind. We know of men and women who are sick. We have friends who are indifferent to the gospel call. We know that our church has missionaries in foreign fields that we pray for by name. We shall pray more fervently. Such definite prayers make us confident as we can check up on our prayers and know whether they have been heard. Finding that they are answered gives us greater confidence in the future knowing that God does answer prayer.

Fervent prayer is made by the righteous. That which makes us righteous before God is the removal of our sin, but sin can be removed only through the blood of Jesus Christ. The righteous in the sight of God have been cleansed and washed from all their sins and are reconciled to God through our Lord and Savior. The believer makes this approach through Christ, for God is his Father only in Christ Jesus. Now such as pray in Jesus’ name fervently accomplishes much to the glory of God and the welfare of the immortal souls  

Go ahead by friends, pray. God is listening. He is waiting for you to call on Him. Likewise, He is waiting to lovingly provide you with all that you need for this world and for the world to come.

We pray.

In the name of Jesus Christ who has purchased us with His holy precious blood, I come to you Heavenly Father, asking you to hear my prayer. I need you every hour to protect and to shield me against sin which constantly assaults my soul. I need you to protect me against the forces of unbelief which seek to rob me of my faith. I need you in these days of sickness and affliction. I come to you because you have so often upheld me when every other help has failed. Therefore, I put my trust in you. I ask all this for the sake of Him who has promised to be with us always, even unto the end of the age, Jesus Christ, my Lord, Amen.

Our Burden Bearing God

Our burden bearing God.

Cast thy burdens upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.

Psalm 55: 22.

“Cast thy burden upon the Lord”. Here God admits that we have burdens. He does not tell us that we struggle throughout life and face the hardships of the week, as hallucinations of the mind. They are real, but these burdens should not become worries.

We are to cast all our burdens upon the Lord. Sadly, thousands of people are lost in their troubles. They worry about things that can never come to pass. They always see shadows on the walks, scarecrows in the fields, and ghosts in the gloomy halls of life.

Whatever our burdens may be, God asks us to cast them upon Him. There is no other way of ridding ourselves of them. We cannot remove them, our friends cannot take them away, and the devil will not stop attacking us.

“And he shall sustain you” is the promise God makes to all of us. If we believe this, we need not worry. In fact, we have no right to worry, no more than the Lily of the field, the sparrows on the housetop, and the ravens which have no barns. By our worries, we offend God, we sin and shows our lack of confidence in our Lord.

Above all, we are to cast upon the Lord the burdens of our sin. Sin robs us of hope, and where there is no hope, there is no peace of heart and mind. The burden of sin is taken away only through Jesus Christ, who went to the cross and paid the price of our redemption. If we cling to Christ, trust in Him as our Savior, then day after day our sins are removed. If we cast these burdens of life upon our burden bearing God, we have nothing to worry about.

We pray.

We are your people, gracious Lord, for you have called us out of darkness to the gospel, into the marvelous light of your Son Jesus Christ. As our Lord and Heavenly Father, you have promised to keep us. Therefore, I come to You with the burden of my life, asking that you would remove them if it be your will. Teach me to trust in you. Forgive me and give me courage to carry on. I ask this for the sake of him who has given his life, that I may have peace, Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.