"From the Pulpit" - reflections on the weekly texts, from Pastor Greg at Living Lord Lutheran Church, Vero Beach, FL 1/17/2026
- Pastor Greg
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
9 [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Chosen One.”
35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). 42 He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). John 1:29-42
Evangelism 101
Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. BTW, that greeting is right from our middle reading for this Sunday, from 1 Corinthians, as Paul often starts his letters. You typically hear me begin my sermons with this holy greeting.
Well, it's been a while since we last met. With Vero Christmas parades, the Cookie Walk, Men's Saturday Breakfasts, Wendy's memorial service, and the holidays, I've had to direct my time and attention to other places. Hopefully, we're back in the saddle for a while now. I hope everyone had a safe, and meaningful Holiday season, with family and friends around, loots of good food, and of course, time to worship and welcome a Savior among us once again. I was fine until my Buckeyes lost to Indiana. But they're a real powerhouse this year, and I expect them to run all over Miami in the championship game Monday night.
I love this gospel for Sunday, from the 1st Chapter of John's gospel. There's no birth narrative in John's gospel, like there is in the other three gospel accounts. By the time John writes his gospel message, he figures folks had already heard of the birth of Jesus. His focus is on showing his audience that Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah, the Son of God himself. Think "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." You know that famous proclamation.
In our gospel for Sunday, John the Baptist heralds Jesus after his baptism as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." The preacher could do a lot with this proclamation by itself. Lamb of God. Think about that. Takes away the sin of the world. "World" in the Greek comes from the word "cosmon", or cosmos. What does that mean to you? The whole creation maybe. The known universe perhaps. Everything there is. The whole shebang maybe. The point is that this Lamb of God takes away the sin of the whole universe. We translate it as the "world" - our world as we know it.
"Takes away the sin of the world". Takes away, as in, pardon the analogy here but you'll get it, like the garbage truck comes and hauls away our trash twice a week. We dump it. The garbage man comes and takes it away, and it's never seen or heard from again. In some ways, this is true in John's writing this day. Takes away once, for all time. Done and done! Never to be seen again. Complete. And, Jesus not only takes away our sin...the sin of the whole cosmos, taking on our sin as his own, but becomes sin itself, for our sake. Think about that. In him, our sin is buried, forgotten, taken away. There's something you can share with some of your non-Christian friends.
But what I see and hear in these few paragraphs from John's gospel, is a model of Chritian evangelism that's as fresh today as it was in Jesus' time. We're going to put up the proverbial "speed bumps" in our reading, and take a closer look at what's going on here.
1. Proclamation - John the Baptist,, who just the day before, had baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. I know some of you have immersed yourselves in that same water. And he says, "Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." He knows who Jesus is, and he can't help but share this good news with anyone who would listen. And he goes on to further proclaim that this Jesus is "the chosen one." Proclamation.
2. Invitation - Two of John's disciples (yes, he had his own disciples) see Jesus and, curious I suppose after John's announcement, follow him, probably at a distance at first. Jesus sees them, turns to them, and says, "Come and see.: Invitation. The two were curious, seeking maybe. John had alerted them that this Jesus was indeed the Messiah. And seeing Jesus, and hearing his invitation to come and see, what do they do? They follow. Not from a distance now, but up close.
3. Bring someone with you. The guys who heard Jesus' invitation to "come and see" eventually bring others along. If we read the next few verses in John's gospel, others who hear Jesus' invitation to "come and see", come and see as well. This news was just too good to be kept a secret. And so, they tell others in their circles, and the group begins to grow. Bring someone with you. You never know how God will use a simple invitation to someone else.
This Christian evangelism pure and simple. Long before fancy clergy, seminaries, big buildings, church councils and the like, Christian evangelism relied on word of mouth, individual witnessing, invitations, bringing along others in their communities, and at the heart of it all, was Jesus himself. So maybe the message here in John's gospel for Sunday is a simple one. Proclaim. Invite. Bring someone with you. It works. Amen.
Announcements
1. Annual Congregation Meeting - The Annual Meeting of our congregation is next Sunday (25th.) After worship, we'll go over and approve our next FY budget. A lot of people have worked very hard on this, and as we do every year, we start all over in our assumptions about things, and work from the ground up. We'll also install new council members, and say thank you to our outgoing members, many of whom have served this congregation faithfully for years. A rest is well deserved. Fellowship will follow the meeting.
2. Ash Wednesday, and Lent - We no sooner took down our Christmas decorations, when Ash Wednesday and Lent are right upon us. Whoa! Ash Wednesday this year is Wednesday, February 18th. We'll offer our usual "Ashes on the Fly" from 8 to 9 am, with worship at 5:30 pm.
3. Lent - The first Sunday in Lent is Sunday, February 22nd. Palm Sunday this year is Sunday, March 29th. Holy Week follows the next week, and Easter Sunday is Sunday, April 5th.
We're working on a midweek Lenten bible study this year, as opposed to Lenten midweek worship. It would be a six week study, on the Wednesdays in Lent, at noon, with a BYOL (lunch.) We'll meet in the sanctuary, since Marie's art classes take up our fellowship hall on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Watch for more on this.
4. Bishop Suarez visits us on Sunday, April 12 - Our Synod Bishop, Pedro Suarez, will join us on Sunday, April 12th (1st Sunday after Easter) as we celebrate our 40th anniversary. You'll want to put this date on your calendars, since he's a busy guy. It's been a long time since a Bishop from our Synod last visited us. A luncheon, being planned right now, will follow worship at Pointe West Country Club and you are invited to attend, AND, bring a friend or two.
5. Sanctuary - Scriptures often refer to a "joyful noise" as a way to proclaim and share our faith in joy. The noise in our sanctuary is growing increasingly louder as we gather before worship on Sunday. Some folks look forward to this time before worship as "quiet time" - a time to gather our thoughts, connect with God in quiet reverence, and more. Let's try to keep our conversations and connecting with one another in the church narthex, or even fellowship hall, before worship as we're able. This will allow those who try to use this time as a worship time to do so without "joyful noise". Thanks.
6. Church building and grounds - You may have missed it, but the grounds around our great building are improving every week. Tree limbs and vines have been removed on the north side of the property, allowing for a better view of our building as people head south on 58th Ave. Shrubs have been pruned; the light poles and concrete parking lot have been pressure washed and renewed; the building is being painted - yes, the whole building. And more. There's more to come including removal and replacement of all of the shrubbery out front, facing 58th Ave. Evangelism 101 - this is part of the "invitation", to come and see. Now folks CAN see our building.
7. Church Musician - We're beginning in earnest to look for Adria Ryan's replacement. We have a budget for the position, and are looking for folks to help serve on a "call committee" for this person. As you know, church musicians are a rare breed these days, so who knows what this search will bring. But we're beginning our journey. In the meantime, we'll continue using recorded music, which, I think, is a decent replacement in the interim. Jen and Marino Mann have been fabulous in helping out here. It's a big task each week, putting this all together.
All for now. I'm exhausted.
Pastor Greg
I know this is a long one, and I thank you for taking the time to read it.
"Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross"
"God be the Love to Search and Guide Me"
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