Text Luke 14:25-33; Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Philemon 1-21

Theme Letting go

Subject Giving up your possessions to follow Jesus

Occasion 15^th after Pentecost – September 9, 2007 – Zion – Iowa City

Baptism of Olivia Grace O’Donnell Vandeberg

Some of you may have memorized Luther’s Small Catechism

Language keeps changing so the translation keeps changing

Distributed here today is the most up-to-date translation in booklet form

With the effort of Mark Bauman, our Minister of Faith Formation,

thru special arrangement with Augsburg/Fortress publishers

and the help of PIPP Printing

we have the most current translation available in booklet form here at Zion

Take a look at the top of page 2

The Fourth Commandment

Honor your father and your mother.

What is this? or What does this mean?

Read with me:

We are to fear and love God, so that we neither despise nor anger our parents and others in authority, but instead honor, serve, obey, love and respect them.

Jesus couldn’t quote Martin Luther’s meaning BUT Jesus knew this commandment

He knew Torah

Exodus 20 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. (v. 12)

He knew the Pentateuch

Deuteronomy 5 Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. (v. 16)

Supposing Jesus knew this basic teaching,

Why are we hearing within the reading from Luke that Jesus said,

"Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” (14:26)

Why?

Hear this teaching in context:

Jesus is inviting everyone to the banquet

People following Jesus and his new teaching didn’t have family support

(Reminds me of a question once on seminary admission forms: “Family Support?”)

Luke’s reporting Jesus talking to first generation Christians

There is no legacy of faith

Biblical scholars know there will always be scrambling with this teaching

Listen to this explanation:

“This abnegation is to be taken not psychologically or fanatically, but pneumatically and christocentrically”

Huh?

We know what Jesus means here

If you want to be Jesus’ disciple, then he’s first in your life

This is a great Sunday to hear this teaching because we do live with a legacy of faith

Many have come before us

The program year begins today

Sunday and mid-week classes

The choirs are again on board

Yes, Jesus comes first

Children come with their parents to learn what it means that Jesus comes first

[Go down center aisle while saying the following:

Having said that, I want to invite the children to join me here in the chancel

letting the children join my return to the chancel.

The conversation begins with name sharing, how’s school, and turns to baptism where the children were “sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever” just like Olivia will be this morning. Then naming the 7 faith practices: worship, pray, study, invite, encourage, give, serve – focusing on worship.

Children return to their seats, preacher to pulpit]

Being a follower of Jesus – that’s what we teach happens at Baptism

Turn to the bottom of page 10 in your catechism

What is baptism?

Baptism is not simply plain water. Instead, it is water used according to God’s command and connected to God’s word.

What then is the word of God?

Read with me

Where our Lord Christ says in Matthew 28, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

We’ve heard the horror stories of how this mission of the church has been abusive to people and cultures

There is, however, a better way

Some of you may have heard that Dr. James Kennedy died this last week

Dr. Kennedy was a Presbyterian pastor in Florida

He developed an approach to evangelism that began with this question

“If you die tonight, will you go to heaven?”

David introduced himself to me on the phone

He said he’d worshipped with us a couple times and he wondered if he could come and talk to me.

We made an appointment

When he arrived we exchanged some pleasantries but David was on task

Seemed he’d been in some theological conversations at work and he was worried because he didn’t know the answer to one of the questions they’d been discussing

“Is there any way for me to know that I’ll go to heaven if I die tonight?”

Over the next several weeks David and I met to discuss this

He explained that he’d never been baptized and knew nothing about Christianity

His parents wanted him to make his own decisions about religion

He knew nothing about Christmas beyond gifts

He knew nothing about Easter beyond colored eggs and bunnies

Then came the day when he asked to be baptized

We arranged for the day

I encouraged him to memorize the Apostles’ Creed as preparation

When he came back the next week, he began to recite the Apostles’ Creed to me

A tear started down his cheek

He stopped

“When I learned this, I called my mom to recite it for her over the phone.

While I was saying it, she started saying it with me

I stopped her, ‘Mom, you know this?’

She said she did

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’”

Today is our Splash Party at Zion

We are celebrating being linked to the whole people of God from every time and place through baptism

Through baptism God is building God’s kingdom

God has counted the cost and is able to finish it

The kingdom of God established on earth

Jesus, God’s only Son, died that it might be so

God’s Holy Spirit breathed fresh and new life into the people of God

Play in the water today: remember your baptism

Be renewed in what you have heard; be renewed to tell