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This Week's Sermon The Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost 19 October 2008 "You Are Chosen by God" 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 LSB Series A Vicar Gerald Heinecke Soli Deo Gloria!

Oo! Oo! Pick me! Pick me! This brings to mind some of the harsh realities of life. You play pick up games of basketball, football, or baseball and wait to see if you will be picked by the two extremely athletic kids who are the captains. Many of you want to play. But not all will be picked. Even if you're lucky and they decide to play with more, what are the chances that you will get the ball? They just picked you to be nice.

This is such a harsh reality of life. I was a kid who always got picked because I could play, but I saw other classmates not so lucky. I never lived in a town where you had to try out for the team, but I came to understand the worst feeling in life was to not be chosen.

The sports world is so hard. That desire to be chosen, to feel wanted, and ultimately feel loved is something that we all need. I started reading our text from 1 Thessalonians today and came to a wonderful part. For we know brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you...What Paul says here is that God has chosen all of you. He means God has chosen the World! God did not pick you because you had value to the team, he picked you before you had value. While you were still in sin, God chose you. He chose all people to be with him. While Paul here literally speaks to the Thessalonians, this letter is written to you as well.

When you are chosen to play on a team you are expected to contribute. If you don't contribute the way the coach or team captain expects you to, you may find yourself benched or worse, even off the team replaced by another player. The same is often thought about God. We are chosen to be on his team, so we need to do something to contribute to it. And that is right, you are expected to follow God's Law. He expects you to play for Him. He expects you to not commit one foul or penalty. He expects you to not change your beliefs about Him.

Thessalonika was a commercial hub with an excellent harbor and the crossroads of the road heading north to the Danube and more importantly the Egnatian way a major east/west road that went across northern Greece. It boasted a population of about 200,000 making it the largest city in Macedonia.

This was an excellent site for setting up a Christian congregation because of the large volume of people traveling through it. It also would bring with it the typical problem that all congregations had at that time. The temptation to play for a different team: to play for a team that looks like it would be more fun, to play for a team that would be a little more forgiving or would let you make it up if you made a mistake. What I mean is that God's chosen had a problem with people worshiping false gods and receiving persecution because of the Christian faith.

The temptation to worship idols was very great during this time. In the temples they had feasts to worship the Greek and Roman gods. These were mega feasts. They had the best food and the best wine always flowing, day and night. Then there were the reasons to pray to specific gods. If your life wasn't going right, it was your fault so you had to fix it. Their idol worship was blatant and to turn from idol worship meant a whole change of lifestyle and a whole group of people with whom you no longer associated.

This is much different from today. Our idol worship is much more subtle. Often times we don't even realize it. Our idol is what we value more than God. It may take the form of your sports. It could be a sports team that you play for or that your child plays for and believe is more important to be part of than coming to church. It could be skipping out on receiving the means of grace so that you can cheer on your favorite football or baseball team.

During the time that Paul wrote this letter, everyone went to church, temple, or synagogue. Today people avoid church. They avoid coming to the Divine Service regularly, hearing the Word, and receiving God's gift of grace. Instead of purposefully worshiping a false god, you make yourself god. I do what makes me happy, and what makes me feel good. I'll go to church to make it look good but that's all I'm doing, just putting in my hour to look good. I'm not going to church because pastor made me mad. I don't want to associate with that member because he hurt my feelings. I partied too late last night so I'll just sleep in. Church just isn't exciting enough for me. I don't feel wanted. I, I, I, me, me, me.....It reminds me of a Toby Keith song,

I wanna talk about me
Wanna talk about I
Wanna talk about number one
Oh my me my
What I think, what I like, what I know, what I want, what I see
I wanna talk about me.

God also expects you to play for him. Now you can play for God in one of two ways, either by your actions or by your words. Do you raise your family in a God pleasing manner? Do you teach your children about Jesus Christ and what He did for our salvation? Do you help your neighbor? Do you befriend him? Have you stolen from him or desired what he owns? Have you shown hate to your neighbor maybe suing him for everything he owns? Have you lusted after the man or woman walking down the street?

The most difficult thing in life is to play God's way. It is difficult to live in the world while not being of the world as Jesus reminds in John 15. We don't want to appear judgmental or hateful so we say nothing about homosexuality or abortion. We want to appear successful and growing so there is the temptation to try anything to bring people in the door. We don't want to speak out against immoral or unscriptural trends, but if we do nothing we proclaim that these actions are ok. We make our impression by how we live.

We also speak for God in our words. Do you speak a kind word to your friend when he is down? Do you invite your friend to come to church? Do you allow your Christian life to flow through your words? Or do you separate your church life from your day to day life. One of the most tempting, as well as easiest, things to do is not speak about Christ in your daily conversations. Do your friends know where you go to church? Do they know why?

Speaking the truth of what God's Word says is often the most difficult thing to do. It probably is not the thing your friend or family member wants to hear. It often leads to the greatest tribulation you will have, a lost friend, maybe for a couple days, maybe a month, a year or a life time. The hope is that God's law sinks in, works repentance: contrition, that is sorrow for sins and then faith which trusts that forgiveness. If being chosen by God depends on us, then we are off the team.

What you need to know is that you are chosen by God. There is none of this trying to know if some are elected to be saved and other given over and thrown to the Devil. We are loved by God. We, here in this sanctuary, are chosen by God. The people outside these walls, the students of ISU and Rose-Hulman, everyone needs to hear the full assurance of the Gospel message, that Jesus Christ died on the cross for them, for their sins. You are the impression molded by God's powerful, dynamic Word that people will see and hear that good news.

Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so. It's as simple as the first line of that classic children's song. It is also as simple as one of the most well known passages found in the Bible, For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16. It is as simple as we see in our text today. For we know brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction...

We know God loves us for two reasons. He chose us. We didn't choose Him because we couldn't. We were lost in our selfish, original sin ridden me, me, me. No, rather He chose us. And if God chose us, if God sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins, why wouldn't he love us? Secondly, God loves us because His Gospel is given to us. The Word of God is powerful. It works faith in our hearts. It turns us to repentance. It brings truth to an uncertain world.

Where the Word is so is the Holy Spirit. That is the promise that God gives to us. The Spirit will work through the Word and the Sacraments. Whenever an unbeliever or an unrepentant sinner is brought back to faith, wherever the Word is taught in all truth and purity, you can be sure the Holy Spirit is right there. Wherever an infant is baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you can be sure the Holy Spirit is right there working faith in that baby's heart. As you hear the Word of God today and whenever you receive the Lord's body and blood you can be confident that the Holy Spirit will work in you and through you.

Could you imagine going to church and wondering if the Gospel message is meant for you or not? Believe it or not this was one of the main tenets of John Calvin. Calvinism falsely teaches that some are saved and some are not by God's eternal decree. It is called double predestination. For example Calvinism teaches that God says although you hear the Gospel message, half of your family is going to heaven and half is going to hell. It is such a horrible idea to think that maybe Jesus died on the cross for my sins, maybe he didn't. There is just no assurance.

Thankfully, Calvinism is wrong. There is assurance in the gospel. The absolution that Pastor spoke is for you. This sermon and its gospel is for you. Forgiveness is for you. The greatest assurance of God choosing us is found in our baptism. In our first lesson from Isaiah God says, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. Our name is found in our Baptism. When Pastor asks how is this child to be named, he is asking for the name as God knows him. Luther says in one of his sermons, I tell you and assure you that Christ Jesus, my Son, is yours, and I have given you baptism and the sacrament (of holy communion) as a true sign and seal, in order that you may believe me when I say that Christ is yours. Receiving the sacraments is God's assurance that He will not turn his back on you. He has promised to make us His. He makes us His though Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.

You do have the promise of ever lasting life. Paul reminds us in our text that we wait for God's Son from heaven whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. Paul speaks this message to the church at Thessalonica. He speaks not just to specific people but to the whole congregation of believers. This letter would be read over and over again to the people in the Divine Service. It would be a daily reminder of what Christ had done for them. It is comforting, assuring knowledge that Jesus is for each and everyone of.

Finally knowing that we are loved by God, that he has placed his baptismal seal on us, that his Gospel message is meant for each of us, we realize that we are an example to all the people. Your faith in God goes forth everywhere. The idea of being an example is interesting. Maybe, it could be better explained in the idea of an impression or a mold.

When I think of a mold I think of playing with Malachi in the sandbox. We get out his buckets, we fill them with sand, and then we turn them upside down. The sand in the bucket then creates a mold of what the bucket looks like. Our example to other Christians is like that of a mold. We are filled with the Word of God as we leave this church. You are an example, an impression, a mold. What you are taught is then revealed to others outside the church. Your mold, your example, bears witness to your faith in your crucified and risen savior.

For all this we give thanks that our God works through us. We can trust in the grace and peace of God because he has chosen us. Even though we are sinners we can turn to God because he has made us his. We can trust that the Gospel is for us because Jesus died on the cross for us, for our sins. And now we wait for the Son to come again and we say come Lord Jesus, come soon to taken us to our heavenly home.