κήρυξον τὸν λόγον

When King Solomon dedicated the first temple in Jerusalem, he wondered aloud ... Will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain [him]. How much less this house that I have built! (1 Ki 8:27).  This was a marvelous observation from the wisest man on earth just moments after the glorious cloud of YHWH’s presence filled the temple in such a way that the priests could not stand to minister there (v 11).  Of course, Solomon’s temple was only a prelude for what would follow. The Word [that] was in the beginning and was with God and was God ... the Word through whom all things happened ... the Word who is Life and Light came into the world. ... He entered his temple conceived in Mary’s womb ... and [he] dwelt among us (Jn 1:10-11,14). True God, the maker of heaven and earth, enfleshed himself as True Man with complete human nature. He is Immanuel, God with us. He has a name and a birthday ... just like you and me.  Yes, Jesus...

And it came to pass, as the angels went away into the heavens, the shepherds began to say to one another, we should go to Bethlehem and see this promise that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us. And they went with haste and they found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger (vv 15-16). [Introduction] Do you remember seeing those “portraits” of Jesus that depict him as a handsome, white man, with a neatly trimmed beard, and flowing locks of long, golden hair? There was a time I didn’t like seeing our Lord portrayed this way. It seemed to be so disingenuous. How could Jesus have blonde-hair, blue-eyes and flowing locks of golden hair? The Mother of Our Lord is a Middle Eastern Hebrew, who almost certainly had olive-brown skin, dark hair and eyes. And Isaiah will remind you that [Jesus] had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him (Is 53:2).  Brothers and sisters in Christ, what I read to you from the lecte...

The word for our meditation this morning comes to us from our Gospel reading in John chapter 1, where we read the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. This word that became flesh is the bread of life who was born in the house of bread.  The goal, therefore, of our meditation is to feast on the Bread Himself.  The opening of Paul Gerhardt’s hymn “ O Jesus Christ, Thy manger is my paradise at which my soul reclineth ” (LSB 372:1) says exactly what our meditation is about. The word reclineth in that line, “ O Jesus Christ, Thy manger is my paradise at which my soul reclineth, ” gives us a picture of the feast in the first century. Guests did not sit at the table for the feast. They were stretched out on couches ... reclining on one elbow ... their feet extended away from the table ... their heads toward the table ... there they contentedly ate and talked.  Hence the theme of this sermon is ... O JESUS CHRIST, THY MANGER IS MY PARADISE AT WHICH MY SOUL FEASTS I. How fittin...

And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we have witnessed his glory as the only begotten from the father, full of grace and truth. Would you look at this ... under the tree ... a nicely wrapped present.  It says here, Open at Christmas . What do you think it is?  Since it’s next to the pulpit, do you think it’s a special gift for me? Maybe it’s an end-of-the-year-tithe to support the mission of the congregation.  What do y’all think? Well, we’ll never know until we open it. So let’s open it! ... It says here, A gift to the congregation ... the gift of My grace in Jesus Christ. Signed, God the Father.   Brothers and sisters in Christ, amidst all the gifts that you’ve ever received, I trust you will treasure this one above all others: God’s perfect gift of grace and truth ... His Word. All of this … every word of it … points us to and then reveals God’s grace and truth ... the savior of the world, the savior promised in the garden ... the savior promise...

Will God truly dwell upon the earth?  Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain [him];  Indeed, how much less can this house that I built? (1 Ki 8:27).  That’s what Solomon said when he dedicated the first temple. You can read about it in 1 Kings 8. Solomon’s question is one we still ask today: Would God truly dwell in a place conceived in the mind of an architect and drawn up on blueprints ... in a building constructed with carpenters’ squares and plumb lines ... in a temple as grand as Solomon’s, a temple made by human hands?  The answer came in a cloud ... the visible manifestation of the glory of the Lord ... a cloud so thick that the priests couldn’t even minister in the temple. Yes, God would dwell on earth ... for a time ... in his time ... in the fullness of time. Solomon’s temple was only a prelude. Solomon’s temple would be destroyed and God would not return in the way he once did.  Instead, the Word that was in the beginning, the w...