B, Palm Sunday - Mark 11:1-11, Philippians 2:8 "It's not April Foolishness"

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Is it too good to be true?

There's a study that suggests if women and children eat chocolate for breakfast, weight problems usually associated with eating the sweet at other times of the day will be avoided. It's believed the bodies of children and women digest differently in the morning. In fact, when eating chocolate at this early time of day, for a prolonged period, the study candidates actually lost weight! Perhaps it's too good to be true!

In 1976 it was reported that the planet Pluto passed behind Jupiter, temporarily causing a gravitational alignment that counteracted and lessened the Earth's own gravity. If people jumped in the air at the exact moment this planetary alignment occurred, they would experience a strange floating sensation. Apparently when 9:47 AM arrived, radio stations received hundreds of phone calls from listeners claiming to have felt the sensation. One woman even testified that she and her eleven friends had risen from their chairs and floated around the room. Too good to be true? Hmmmm!

Did you know that stretching nylon stockings over a plasma television makes the picture standing out in front of the screen in three dimensions! It's as if the people on the tele were actually standing in your lounge room. This effect was first discovered back in the black & white days when stretching the stockings over the TV screen would make instant colour TV. The nylon in the pantyhose chemically reacts to the light a television produces causing the amazing results. Wow! It sounds too good to be true?

There are also rumours that local footy clubs are in a bidding war to import Frenchman Lirpa Loof into Australia. He was born with the amazing ability to kick a ball further than anyone else in the world. Lirpa no longer plays soccer because every time he kicks the ball it flies right out of the stadium. His ability comes from his legs having similar qualities and strength to that of a frog and it's hoped that the man's talent can be taken advantage of on our larger football grounds! He'd be able to kick goals the full length of the ground. Too good to be true?

What's even more amazing is all these things were discovered or occurred throughout history on the same day - the first day of the fourth month. Yes, it is too good to be true, because the day is "April Fools Day"!

The first of April rolls around year after year and time and time again pranks of various size and effect are administered on family, friends, and work colleagues with various degrees of success. Those who have not noticed the date of the day can be sucked into the gag. The more gullible the recipient the greater the laugh others have at their expense.

It's not really known how April the first, came to be known as April Fools Day. One view is that the day came about after the Gregorian calendar was changed to the Julian calendar. May Day was recognised as the start of summer or the spring planting season. An April fool was one who did this prematurely after the calendar had changed.

Then again, in the eighteenth century people believed that the day was connected with Noah at the time of the flood's ebb when he released a raven too early. He did this on the first day of the month in the Hebrew calendar which coincides with April the first.

Unfortunately many believe the gospel is too good to be true. One might think Jesus Christ - both Son of God and Son of Man, the cross, his death, his resurrection - the Word of God offering forgiveness and peace with no strings attached, is just too good to be true. And therefore, it's believed one has to either add to or water down God's grace to make it a little more convincing. Or, on the other hand, one might be temped to discard the gospel as a laughable foolish faith to sustain those who have nothing better to do with their time.

We human beings with our understanding and nature find it very difficult to understand the being of God, his nature, and his ways. The crowds on Palm Sunday thought they knew exactly what Jesus was doing as he walked into Jerusalem. They cried "Hosanna" as the man rode a donkey into the city, reminding them of a bygone era when Israel was strong under David their almighty king. But Jesus' exercise of almighty power came in an unexpected way, in that he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:8)

Imagine the fickle crowd, seeking Jesus as the new King David, believing he would march into Jerusalem and dethrone the Romans as they cried "hosanna", "save us, we pray". But rather witnesses saw him confront what Judaism had become and then take his throne on the cross in death.

It sounds like the greatest hoax of all time; definitely too good to be true! How can Jesus be God if he can bleed and die in the most disgraceful way on a cursed cross? How can a king reign when he's dead? And so on Good Friday the broken body of Jesus became a laughing stock, to the Romans who saw Jesus as a fool, and to the Jews who saw in Jesus' death something too good to be true.

But as Jesus entered Jerusalem, hidden in his motives and actions, was a way that seemed too good to be true, but in fact is the only way that's too good not to be true. Jesus confronted what Judaism had become and overturned their corrupted means of righteousness. He faithfully took hold of the law and kept it, and in doing so, set a benchmark that nobody could match.

In Luke's Gospel we hear Jesus wept over Jerusalem as he marched into the city. The crowd whipped into a frenzy calling out for victory - "hosanna" "save us, we pray". To which Jesus tears and actions said, "Amen, let it be so", as he went to the cross to give victory to all people, saving them from their sins, once and for all freeing them from the condemnation of the law.

Do you wonder if it's all too good to be true? Maybe you want to discard the Word of God like a trite April Fools Day prank! Or perhaps you believe you need to bolster what God did with good deeds in the hope you might get the victory you're praying for. Possibly proving to God you're no April fool!

However, Jesus' death and resurrection is no prank! Discarding him or being caught in deeds of self-righteousness, treats him as a fool, and shows that we as humans are naive and gullible. If left to our own senses we are doomed.

But God is faithful. As we remember his walk to the cross this Good Friday and see that it really should be you and me nailed there, God calls us to peace in the knowledge that the day of his crucifixion was too good a Friday not to be true.

Thankyou Lord for cleansing us and making us holy with your Word, your Word is truth, Amen.

B, Lent 4 - Numbers 21:4-9 "God Sent Snakes"

From Mount Hor the Israelites set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food." Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the From Mount Hor the Israelites set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food." Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live." So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. (Numbers 21:4-9)

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? This is so boring. I don't want to go. I wish I had stayed home! I wish I had different parents! [Hissing whispers, huffs and puffs, with plenty of sighs and attitude from the back seat of the car.]

I hate this food. I don't like peas! I don't like broccoli! Why do we have to always have vegetables? This food is so boring!

You've probably heard this type of reckoning and rhetoric before! Perhaps these words have even come from your mouth, at the table, or from the back seat.

Then there's the "so-called" advice from the back seat, or the left seat...

Why are you going this way? You'd get there a whole lot quicker if you went the other way!

When enough is enough, the situation is rectified by a sudden stopping of the car with the summons to get out and walk; or the invitation for the left hand driver to take the wheel on the right.

In the same manner, the food that seems so detestable is taken from the table and presented to the hound outside the house while the protestors are put to bed hungry.

No matter how much we might love our parents, they've all been the worst people in the world, at one time or another. Once it was thought being a kid was the worst thing in the world. Remember mum and dad rattling off the regular rant, "When you're an adult you can do whatever you please; you don't know how good you've really got it, and while you're under our roof you'll list to what we say and do it!"

But now being a parent pushed to the brink of frustration and beyond, one might find themselves saying the same things as did their mum and dad, realising how well we really did have it!

Experience has now taught me there's something much worse than being a frustrated child - being a frustrated parent of frustrated children!

When Moses prayed before the Lord, every parent can resinate with the frustration he must have felt as he led the children of God on the way from misery to happiness on the road from slavery to milk and honey freedom. We don't know what he said when he prayed to God, but I imagine he growled and muttered about their rudeness, being so impatient, and their faithlessness. After all God had brought them out of slavery and promised to deliver them into a life so much better than what they had.

In the same vein, it's not hard to imagine how God must get frustrated with us. Not all of us are parents, but we've all been children of parents and of those entrusted to lead us on behalf of parents. Some of us have long left the years of childhood; however, we're still the children of God.

We can cast aside the rose-coloured childhood view we like to have of ourselves and see that, like the Israelites, we as children were guilty of grumbling we knew a better way than the way lovingly laid out for us by our fathers and mothers.

It's no different with our Heavenly Father. In fact our age has little to do with Christian maturity. No matter how young or old we are we're all tempted to look at ourselves with rose-coloured glasses, guilty of exchanging Christ's way for our own way, believing we can do better, or adding just a bit to our Heavenly Father's way.

So God and Moses had packed up their Israelite family and were on a road trip. But not long into the trip the kids, the children of God, began to whinge and whine about the direction God was going and the food he handed out along the way.

Let's be clear here! Things weren't easy! They struggled in a harsh place, rocky wilderness and sandy soil was everywhere. It was tough! But they failed to trust God was with them, leading them, and loving them; hidden in the cloud, hidden the fire, and his hand hidden in the provisions of quail, manner, and water. They lived by sight and not by faith and so hardship in the desert made them snaky and they became impatient with Moses.

We might expect God to make things better; after all - God is a God of love. However, God works in ways we least expect, contrary to the way we think or like. He's God who comes in the midst of struggles and suffering looking for faith and trust. God is found hidden in the wilderness of fallen creation, and is not immediately obvious in the everyday hustle and bustle of life. In fact he uses all things, and even allows evil to continue in the short term, so we're taught to look to him for comfort and strength rather than the fallen world in which we like to hide and love to trust.

The Israelites' experience was uncomfortable, but so focused on the short-term superficialities of life, they wished for slavery in Egypt over against trusting God to deliver them into a land of milk and honey as he had promised. Their addiction to feel good, even for just a moment, led them to think they knew what was better for them.

But nothing could be further from the truth. And to use the well known verse from John 3:16... God so loved the Israelites that he sent snakes.

Now that's completely opposite to how we think; especially in this day and age! The Israelites took their eyes off God and craved deadly oppression under the old snake Pharaoh. And so God gave them a taste of death and sent snakes that bit them and they started to die.

This quickly turned them back to God when they realised they had received what they had wished for, with dire consequences to themselves and their quest for satisfaction. God knew if they got what they wanted; it would be no good for them in the long term. To return to Egypt, darkness, slavey, and oppression would not give them the feel good fix they were so desperately seeking.

So the choice became very simple: Uncontrollable death and carnage in Egypt without God, or God walking with them through the wilderness, giving them what they needed for the journey so they might be delivered into something much better.

Therefore, God didn't take the snakes away when Moses prayed to God. The harsh reality of the wilderness remained, but God gave the people a way out through trusting in him. God commanded Moses to mount a snake on a staff so that healing came to those who were bitten. And so God added to their wilderness hardship, but it made the Israelites realise just how merciful he is, and how much he wants to care for his people.

When we struggle with the sting of life and are tempted to growl at God. We do well to remember that God is a merciful God. Instead of abandoning us in the wilderness of our ways, he comes to us and calls us into his forgiveness.

Instead of desiring the darkness, allow God to shine the light of Christ into your place of darkness, so that as we struggle and stumble in the wilderness, we learn more and more to trust and walk in Christ through every valley darkened by the shadow of death.

So we hear in John chapter three...

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. (John 3:19-21)

Amen.

B, Epiphany 6 - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 "The Flying Ant"

Ants are fascinating little creatures. They can remind us a lot of ourselves; the things we do as individuals and as a community.

A little flying ant pushes its way through the steamy environment. She can't see where she's going or from where she's come. But she uses her senses to the best of her ability to work out where she is going. She cannot fly as the steam from the room weighs heavy on her wings. So she clings upside down to roof of the bathroom.

Where is this ant going? From where has it come? Watch the ant to see what will happen next, as it tries to figure out where it is, and how to get somewhere else.

But it goes nowhere. The steam from the shower melts its only means of knowing where to go. The steam however reveals from where it has come since the room has steamed up. The best the poor little flying critter can do is to walk upside down in circles on the ceiling in the dampness. See its lost circle in the moisture on the bathroom ceiling!

We humans have a tendency to do the same thing; we walk in confused lost circles; habitually, mentally, spiritually, and sometimes even physically. History has a tendency to repeat itself too; going in circles humanity finds themselves in the same situation, generation after generation. It's as if we're like the little ant unable to fly away or walk out of the circle of repetition in which we find ourselves.

Some might think humanity should be getting stronger and stronger as we grow and develop because of our problems. It's logical to think this way; but in reality it doesn't happen. History proves and reveals our repeated mistakes time and time again.

You'd think in generations and generations of ant culture, they would have superseded the problems that arise when their scent path is lost. After all flying ants have the freedom of wings. But in this case its freedom doesn't help it get out of its lost circle.

Similarly with us, we have freedom too. But to where does it get us? An example of our autonomy to demonstrate the problems of freedom, is, human transport.

When people first roamed the earth on foot, there was a desire to have more freedom. Instead of lumping one's load on one's back, wheels were stuck on carts to give people more freedom.

Then horses were put in front to make life easier again. After that horsepower was put into the front of the cart to go faster, to be freer. This horsepower was put on rails and into boats so massive loads of what we once had to carry on our back could be taken all over the world.

However, we looked at birds and desired their freedom and so we built flying machines to hold us, our loads, and to carry the horsepower to move the aircraft through the sky. But the freedom we sought throughout the ages came at a price.

When we walked we could nearly walk any direction we liked. But when we walked with wheels we had to find a path on which to walk, limiting our freedom. When horses came along we had to feed them so they could continue pulling the cart, we had to spend time breaking-in the animal, limiting its freedom, so it would submit to our freedom.

When we put the horsepower under the bonnet, we had to send others out to toil for iron ore, coal, and oil to build and fuel our freedom, so we can get stuck in gridlock on the freeways.

And in our freedom we fly, but only when the weather is favourable, bridled by air traffic control and other strict safety regulations.

So having been grounded and gridlocked in our freedom, we return to where we started, and walk. But not realising the freedom our feet give us, once again we wonder how we might have more freedom.

Aren't we doing what the flying ant did upside down on the ceiling of the bathroom? Walking in lost circles! It appears the more we seek freedom, the less freedom we actually have. Perhaps, the more something changes, the more it stays the same.

At a recent elders meeting, after I announce the acceptance of the call to Western Australia, one of the elders reflected, "It seems like we have to reinvent the wheel, every five years or so because our pastor always leaves."

Yes! You will have to go through the process once again of calling a minister, getting to know a minister, placing yourselves under his authority as a called and ordained servant of God and his Word. There will be repetition as this process once again begins.

However, know that as you wait for the next minister to come, you have been instructed in the things of God. You have been encouraged in his word to believe and receive the forgiveness of your sins. You have been encouraged to forgive each other as God has forgiven you. That together in Christ we have grown through our joys and sorrows together. Know that you have been encouraged to train yourselves in the straight paths of Christ.

As the wheel seems to be reinvented, as we circle on ground over which we've marched before, see that Christ is walking with you, calling you together as one people to follow him. So it is good for you and me to conform our ways to Christ! Saint Paul explains to his congregation at Corinth why...

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Cor 9:24-27)

When a person trains to win a prize they change little in their routine. They make themselves slaves to a cycle. Not in a cycle that is lost or without direction, but one that results in them winning a prize.

So too with you; remain in what you know, in what you have been taught. Let Christ continually reinvent you through his death and resurrection as you circle in repetition of life. In the mistakes you make, in the blessings you receive, allow Christ's correction and forgiveness to mature you in him. As the next pastor comes place yourselves under him, encourage him to preach the law and the gospel, to expose your sin and to grant the grace of God, that forgives your folly and feeds the faith given to you at baptism.

Don't look for change, but look for consistency. Train yourselves to win the prize. Christ is the same; yesterday, today, and forever. The greatest change is happening in you when you remain in he who is the same. Disciple yourselves in the discipline of hearing God's word preached and receiving the mysteries of Jesus in the way he ordained. Believe it is the only way to win the prize - the salvation of your souls.

History repeats itself in all of you because of your sin. Generation after generation circles in the steaminess of its sinful nature. Like the flying ant that dropped from the ceiling and died, we too will circle in life to death. But unlike the flying ant, we have One who circles with us, Jesus Christ our Lord.

As your weariness wears you down, let Christ carry you. He is carrying you towards a crown that will last forever. So use your freedom in the faith with purpose, to fight the good fight of faith, to remain in Christ, his Word, his way - to forgive, to be forgiven, and to be feed on the food of faith, forever, Amen.

B, Epiphany 1 - Mark 1:9-11, Psalm 29:1-4,9c-11 "Waters Below, Waters Above"

Psalm 29 1-4,9c-11(NIV) Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness. 3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. 4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. 9C ...And in his temple all cry, "Glory!" 10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever. 11 The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.

Water is the essential element of creation. The human body is mostly made up of water. The earth is covered with water. All of creation needs water to exist.

Without water everything dries up and dies. The land no longer produces, and all living organisms eventually return to dust without water. Water is powerful in its absence. Without it everything stops.

However, too much water is also a force with which to be reckoned. Water unleashed in torrents of rain and hail can cause major damage to life and property. Floods and tsunamis are waters in mass proportion and they can cause more havoc on earth than just about anything else.

Water can carry people and their possessions great distances in boats, but water can also carry cholera and other devastating diseases to people who drink the contaminated supply. Looking at an insignificant glass of water, it's hard to imagine this tasteless, colourless, and odourless stuff can be so powerful or dangerous over creation when there is too much or too little of it.

God is more powerful than the biggest waters of creation; he is to be feared more than the lack of water too. God is omnipotent; the power of water is no match for his voice, for his word. God was there before creation; with his word he placed boundaries around water and the darkness it bore making it a blessing to his creation.

The Lord in his almighty power stands over the water, using it to wash the earth in Noah's time, using it to wash people in repentance in John the Baptist's day. With water the Lord cleanses his creation, and with water he brings peace to his people.

If God is above the waters, if he stands over the waters, and he wills the waters of the earth below, how is it that Jesus Christ, God the Son, places himself under the waters of the Jordan River, baptised by John?

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." (Mark 1:9-11 NIV)

What was the purpose of Jesus' baptism? John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. From what did Jesus need to repent? What sin had the Son of God committed? After all, this is the Son of the Father from eternity on whom the Holy Spirit descended and the Father said, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

From Genesis 1 we hear...

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1:1-4 NIV)

Likewise from John's Gospel we hear...

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4 NIV)

The Word, who was with God from the beginning, who is God, and, who made all things, now descends down into the water as a man. This man made the waters over which the Spirit hovered in the beginning, over which the glorious Word of God thundered in all majesty and power. So why did the Word made flesh, the One and Only Son of God descend down into the waters, waters which he had created and placed boundaries around at the beginning?

If Jesus were just a man we would understand why he might be baptised by John in the Jordan. However, he is revealed to be God's Son, in whom is the life that is the light of creation and we who live in it. It makes no sense that God would place himself under the waters of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

But this event is significant in Jesus' ministry on earth and for us too. So much so that God tore heaven open and his voice was heard and Jesus saw the Spirit descend on him. Jesus' baptism was no accident and its importance is paramount for this man who would carry the sins of world to the cross, and for us who through this man have received life in adoption as Son's of God.

The tranquil waters of peace which God destined to flow in us became disrupted by sin. In us churns the turmoil of pre-creation chaos and darkness. The same darkness that churned the earth in Noah's day; the same darkness of sin that John the Baptist baptised for repentance and forgiveness of sin.

Jesus came bearing all power and peace and descended into the waters of death and destruction. His baptism was one into death that finished at the cross. God was pleased in Christ at his baptism in the same way he is pleased at your baptism. At baptism you were washed and plunged into the death of Christ, and having been brought up out of the water, God looks on you as his Son.

God placed his Son on the cross; he immersed him into the turmoil of sin, darkness, and death. The soldier took a spear and plunged it into his side and from the Word made flesh gushed water and blood for the cleansing of creation and for you and me. God cleanses creation and brings peace - Body & Blood, Water & the Word made flesh!

God now places Christ with you - in you! His Spirit has descended upon you in baptism just as the Spirit rested on him. Jesus Christ is all powerful over creation, over all chaos; bring tranquillity to the storms we endure in this life. He can even bring peace to storms you create in this life.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, he made heaven and earth. He walks with us, in us! In us is life, and that life is the light of Christ. The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever. The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.

And in his temple all cry, "Glory!" Amen.

B, Christmas 2 - Ephesians 1:7-10,13a "The Good & Gracious Will of God"

Text - Ephesians 1:7-10,13a In him (Christ) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace (8) that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. (9) And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, (10) to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. (13a) And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.

Sermon Now that the rush of the holidays is beginning to settle down we might have cause to stop and reflect on our lives and what has happened over the last twelve months. What were your plans and desires for 2008? Did they succeed?

In the stillness of your reflections, perhaps a time of deeper reflection is necessary? What were the plans and desires of your will? What is your will; the hidden human desires that mould who you are and what you naturally do as a result of your human nature?

Maybe your deeper plans and desires didn't come into completion because God protected you from yourself in 2008.

And what of your plans and desires today, tomorrow, and for the rest of 2009? Is your will, the same as that of God's will? Probably not, if we're honest about the secrets of our being! So then will God let these hidden plans and desires succeed this year? As we rest in God's peace, and Jesus himself dwells in us, let the Spirit of Wisdom and Truth examine you in accordance with the riches of Christ's grace.

Perhaps at this point you crash headlong into turmoil. The silence is stirred by a disturbance within! The peace of God opens the doors of your heart and reveals the commotion of a sinful human will. Maybe some of you prefer to shut these doors and keep hidden what God seeks to reveal and repair.

If God didn't let the sinful desires and plans of your human will succeed, then you do best to consider if God's will succeeded in you in 2008? What's on God's wish list for you in 2009? What is the good and gracious will of God? You might ask yourself, "What is God's will for me!"

When the Holy Spirit opens your lips with the Lord's Prayer, Jesus prays to our Heavenly Father, "your will be done". And where is this will of God done? "On earth as it is in heaven!" And so we hear in Ephesians 1:9-10...

(God) made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

God's will is to bring everything together under Christ, even your troubled heart as you sit stirred in the presence of his grace and glory. And from the third petition in the Lord's Prayer we hear his will is done... when he hinders and defeats every evil scheme and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful self, which would prevent us from keeping his name holy and would oppose the coming of his kingdom.

So in 2008 Jesus Christ has been working in you to keep his and his Father's name holy, confronting the hidden un-holiness, to grant you his will which is to eternally have you in his kingdom.

If it was left up to us to decide we needed his kingdom, we would never get there. Too many things would stand in the way and desire our attention. Even if God's kingdom was placed in front of us and it was left to our human will to decide to enter into it, the same would happen.

We would decide on something else, probably a quasi-kingdom that looked and sounded a bit like God's kingdom, but instead of Christ at the head would be us. We all know this to be true! You only have to look at the kingdom you desired and decided to build for yourself in 2008; the short-lived kingdom which collapses every time from the will and desires of the haunty human heart.

But God's will is done... when he strengthens our faith and keeps us firm in his Word as long as we live. This is his gracious and good will.

The great mystery of God's will for us is given in his Word; the written Word, the Word made flesh! In Christ you have redemption through his blood at the cross, the forgiveness of sins, and are promised by God himself that no matter what turmoil happens in the heart, or around us in the world, in Christ, we are united with all of heaven and earth.

You know you were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Even today you can be confident that on hearing his word you are included in his unseen kingdom that comes to us through his Word. This is because the Holy Spirit comes through the Word, and through the Word the Holy Spirit gives faith. Faith that hangs on the hope of God's kingdom coming!

...to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:12-14)

The faith the Holy Spirit gives us in hearing the Word helps us to see hidden in us, why we had such a conflict in the heart last year, and further back. We also understand that we will continue to have turmoil in the future as God the Son comes with his kingdom to dwell in our heart and bear the Heavenly Father's forgiveness that Christ won on the cross.

The will of God, the glory of the One and Only, crashes headlong into the human will and calls it to turn from glorifying itself, together with the temptation to believe God�s kingdom is not for you unless you earn it!

So God's will is done in us, when Christ is allowed to remain and temple in us and us in him. We trust the Word made flesh is in effect in us when we hear the Word of salvation. God's will is done in us, the devil, the world, and our sinful self are defeated when we freely receive the forgiveness of sins that comes through the Word of salvation.

God's will is a mystery! But it's the mystery of heaven given to you, whenever you hear the Word and receive the sacraments.

The good and gracious will of God for you for 2009 is for you to bear and believe the forgiveness of all your sins, the very sins which caused your turmoil in 2008 as a result of the human will.

God's will is done in heaven when he forgives us our sin. But it doesn't stop there! His will is done on earth when we forgive those who sin against us. And in doing this we allow Christ to further strengthen his holy Christian Church on earth as he unites us all under himself in the presence our Heavenly Father.

Surely, in his wisdom and understanding, God wants to lavish you with his will!

So in Jesus Christ, live under the freedom of God's forgiveness and the freedom to forgive one another in 2009. Amen.