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Epiphany 4 2023
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
January 29, 2023
Micah 6:1-8, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, Matthew 5:1-12
Sermons online:
Text and Audio: immanuelhamiltonchurch.com click “sermons”
Text: pastorjud.org
Audio: pastorjud.podbean.com
itunes: bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio: bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship
Advertising is powerful -- and it works. The going rate for a 30 second ad during the upcoming Super Bowl is over $7 million; almost a quarter of a million per second. Advertising works. It drives desires. It creates a need and then shows you how to fill it. It creates discontent and promises a solution.
Marketing Christianity is tough. How does the Church attract more people? How does the Church reach out to hurting people to get them to follow Jesus?
There is a great temptation to try to convince people that the church can meet their needs for help with parenting, finances, friendships, therapy, planning and all sorts of things. There is a great temptation to try to put on an impressive show on Sunday morning to keep people entertained and engaged, and to preach “relevant” sermons with practical advice for life. Churches and youth programs often attract people with all sorts of things; a kind of, “Whatever it takes to bring them in,” mentality with the goal of doing a bait and switch. Get them in with this flashy thing and then give them the gospel. The problem is something a wise church leader once said, “What you win them with is what you win them to.” It you attract people with the idea that the church will fix all their troubles, there will be many who are terribly disappointed when they still have troubles and life is still hard even after being fully engaged in church.
Marketing Christianity is tough because Christianity is about the cross, and the cross is not an easy sell. Here, at Immanuel, we strive to be Christ-centered and Cross-Focused. But when you focus on the cross what do you see? The cross of Christ is good news, but it is good news because of the bad news. When you focus on the cross you see Jesus suffering and dying. Why is He suffering? Why is He dying? It is because of your sin. Jesus is bleeding because you are not good enough. Jesus struggles for breath because you break God’s commandments. This is hard news. This is a hard truth to embrace. This is a difficult truth to market to a world that thinks it is doing just fine. The wise of the world do not want to join us on Sunday to get on our knees and plead guilty of being natural born sinners who deserve punishment and hell.
The world wants preachers to preach what their itching ears want to hear. The world wants to hear that they are good enough, but the hard truth of the cross is that your sin is serious and you are not okay just the way you are. Jesus’ and John the Baptist both preached the same short sermon that is still valid today, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” Repent! Don’t embrace sin -- turn away from sin. The bad news of the cross is that you are a sinner and your sin needs to be punished. This is not a message the world wants to hear.
Focusing on the cross you see your sin and that is bad news, but the cross is not all bad news. The bad news is not the main truth of the cross. The amazing good news of the cross is that Jesus is on the cross because He loves you. Jesus loves you so much that He is paying the price for your sin in order to set you free.
Striving to be Christ-centered and cross-focused may not be good as a marketing strategy but it is the power of God for the forgiveness of sins. St. Paul states this in the beginning of his letter to the church in Corinth. 1 Corinthians 1:17 (ESV) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
The world loves eloquent wisdom. The world has been seeking after wisdom from the beginning; even in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:6 (ESV) 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”
We can be so impressed by wisdom, so enticed by wisdom, so taken in by wisdom, that we can be destroyed by chasing after wisdom. 1 Corinthians 1:18 (ESV) 18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
The world wants success; a good education, a good job, a good family, a good retirement. The world wants affirmation. The world wants to be told that everything is fine. Look in the mirror and tell yourself, "I am in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing,” or, "I am successful, I am confident, I am powerful, I am strong,” or the classic, “I am good enough and smart enough and doggone it, people like me.” The world wants you to believe that you just need a pep talk to do a little better.
Joel Osteen, who pastors a huge church in Houston and is watched by millions, has a consistent message of the power of positive thinking. If you have a better attitude and have loftier goals, God will open up the floodgates of His blessings. Osteen preaches the wisdom of the world.
The world wants affirmation. The cross brings transformation. The cross does not make sense to the world. How could someone suffering and dying do anything good? What kind of God is stripped and nailed to a cross to slowly die? That is ridiculous. How is that going to help me to lead a better life? How is that going to make me successful? Forget the cross; just tell me what I need to do. Just give me some encouragement. The world wants affirmation. The cross brings transformation.
1 Corinthians 1:21–25 (ESV) 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
Jesus does not affirm you in your sin; rather He transforms you into a new creation. A new creation, born again by water and the spirit. A new creation who knows that you bring nothing to God but your sins, and Jesus takes your sins and, in exchange, gives you His perfection.
The world is chasing after money and pleasure and it rejects Jesus on the cross as some archaic folk tale for simple-minded people. The world is lost in its wisdom, but you know the truth. The cross is the power of God for the forgiveness of sins. Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. You know that the cross is not the end of Jesus. Jesus rose from the dead. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia!
Jesus does not affirm you in your sin; rather He transforms you into a new creation. A new creation, born again by water and the spirit. A new creation who knows that you bring nothing to God but your sins, and Jesus takes your sins and, in exchange, gives you His perfection.
Our gathering together here each week is not a gathering of deeply spiritual people looking to share our wisdom with one another. It is not a gathering to hear an eloquent, poetic sermon to entertain and enlighten you to the ways of the world. You gather here as poor-in-spirit followers of Jesus who are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus is your Lord and Master.
Jesus is not your coach. Jesus is not your therapist. Jesus is not your financial advisor. Jesus is your Savior. Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross at Calvary for you. The world says this is foolishness -- the world is perishing. 1 Corinthians 1:25 (ESV) 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
Christianity is tough to market because people don’t know they need Jesus. But Christianity has a force more powerful than a Super Bowl ad to convince people. We have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works with the foolishness of words and water and bread and wine to make disciples of all nations -- to make a disciple of you. Amen.