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<div><span style="font-size: small">Sermons for the Baptism of Our Lord</span><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 – <b>“Have You Got a Prayer?</b><b>” </b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 – <b>“Pet Peeves and Pet Pleasures”</b> by Leonard Sweet</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small">Luke 3<font size="4">,</font> the sermon title “Have You Got a Prayer?”<font size="4"> </font> </span>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">In
the season of Epiphany we look at those special events in Jesus' life
where his presence was especially manifested with power. Jesus' baptism
is one of those epiphanies. You heard Luke's version read this morning.
The Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form as a dove, and a voice
came from heaven, "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well
pleased." In newer translations, which are thought to be more accurate,
the adjective "beloved" is made a separate phrase to emphasize the
intensity of the personal nature of this experience. "You are my Son. My
beloved. In thee I am well pleased." </span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">That
is Luke's version. All four gospels portray this scene. But Luke's
version is a little different than the others. In each version, though,
the Spirit descends "like a dove." The Holy Spirit is not a bird. Luke
and the other apostles use the dove as a metaphor for the Spirit's
coming into our lives. It is a beautiful metaphor. Have you ever seen a
dove descend and land? It is graceful, gentle, and quiet. That's the
point being made. That is the way the Holy Spirit will enter into our
lives. The Holy Spirit came to Jesus gently, quietly, and in Luke's
version, privately. </span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">That
is why Luke is different than the other three gospels. The other
writers imply that the Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism,
apparently when he was still in the water. That is the way this scene is
often portrayed in religious art, especially those beautiful paintings
out of the Middle Ages. Jesus, standing waist deep in water. John the
Baptist standing next to him, pointing at Jesus, as if to say, "This is
the one!" or, in the words of the Gospel of John, "Behold, the Lamb of
God, who takes away the sins of the world!" Above Jesus' head in these
scenes is the Spirit, as a dove, descending. It is like the symbol that
is in the baptismal font here, a nimbus around the Holy Spirit as he
hovers above Jesus' head. </span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">That's the way all the other gospels picture it. But Luke is different…</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining </span><span style="font-size: 12pt"><a target="_blank" __removedlink__1958426865__href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8ABwQACg9bDEkNAwFKDAtXUVw%3D"><span style="font-size: small"><font color="#0000ff">http://www.sermons.com/signup</font></span></a></span><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small">Luke 3<font size="4">,</font> the sermon titled “Pet Peeves and Pet Pleasures” by Leonard Sweet </span>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">The
weather is always a good source for small talk. In these dark and
dreary days of January, that “small talk” is probably even smaller —
meaner and more morose. Whether it’s chatting at the check-out stand
with a cashier, or making conversation in the cramped quarters of a slow
moving elevator, this time of year “weather talk” isn’t likely to be
upbeat. </span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">“I hate the snow!” </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.5in; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"><span style="font-size: small">“Don’t’ you just love what the salt does to your shoes, your car, your clothes?” </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 0.5in; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">“Tornado warnings in January? Really!!” </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.5in; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"><span style="font-size: small">“It’s dark when I go out in the morning and dark when I get home after work. I haven’t seen daylight in weeks!” </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.5in; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in"><span style="font-size: small">“Why does every parking spot come equipped with its own giant puddle?” </span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Everyday
grouses of everyday glitches. But they give our casual conversations
and interactions a kind of “survivor” camaraderie. Verbalizing all our
gripes might bind us together. But it doesn’t lift us up. We’re still
all stuck in the same dreary day.</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">I’m
going to guess that every one of you here this morning has a pet peeve.
[You might want to make this an interactive moment, revealing one of
your pet peeves and then asking for theirs. For example, one of my pet
peeves is rudeness. Why are People So Rude? Why can’t people be gracious
and kind to one another? Here are some of my pet peeves of rudeness . .
. In a store, the checkout people don’t talk to you because they’re
talking to one another. When you hold the door open for someone, and
they blast by you, and don’t even look at you, forget about saying
“thank you.” The use of offensive, crude language in public does to me
what a red rag does to a bull. Rude cell phone usage . . . Why can’t
people “Set Your Phasers on Stun!” . . . Sometimes I want to go up to
people who are nice to each other and congratulate them for NOT being
rude. .
. .. See how easy it is to go on and on with “pet peeves?”]</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Why
is it so easy to talk, tweet, or text all of our favorite “pet peeves”
of the day, and not so easy to pay attention to and pass on those things
that bring the gift of joy to a mundane moment in each day?...</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining </span><span style="font-size: 12pt"><a target="_blank" __removedlink__1958426865__href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8ABwQACg9bDEkNAwFKDAtXUVw%3D"><span style="font-size: small"><font color="#0000ff">http://www.sermons.com/signup</font></span></a></span><span style="font-size: small"> </span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Meaning of Baptism</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Those
who are baptized in Jesus do not need to strive after a new life. They
have already attained new life through dying with Christ. But they do
need to nurture that new life so it can grow and mature. That's what
church is for. That's what Bible study is for. That's what prayer is
for. It is like the Parable of the Sower. Many of those seeds sprouted
up, but only a few grew into maturity. The rest withered and died.</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">A wealthy businessman was horrified to see a fisherman sitting beside his boat, playing with a small child.</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">"Why aren't you out fishing?" asked the businessman.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">"Because I caught enough fish for one day, "replied the fisherman.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">"Why don't you catch some more?"</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">"What would I do with them?"</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">"You
could earn more money," said the businessman. "Then with the extra
money, you could buy a bigger boat, go into deeper waters, and catch
more fish. Then you would make enough money to buy nylon nets. With the
nets, you could catch even more fish and make more money. With that
money you could own two boats, maybe three boats. Eventually you could
have a whole fleet of boats and be rich like me."</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">"Then what would I do?" asked the fisherman.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">"Then," said the businessman, "you could really enjoy life."</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">The fisherman looked at the businessman quizzically and asked, "What do you think I am doing now?"</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">The
baptism of Jesus is dying to our self-centered endeavors and being
resurrected into a life marked by grace and love. When we live in the
baptism of Jesus, we touch the hearts of others and help open them to
the Holy Spirit and new life in Christ. Are you living and growing in
the new life you have been given?</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Paul Peterson, The Waters of Death.</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Washed Away in a New Beginning</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Some
of you may have seen the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou. This is a
whimsical retelling of Homer’s Odyssey set in 1930s Mississippi. Three
hapless escaped convicts--Everett, Pete and Delmar--are hiding out in
the woods, running from the law. There they encounter a procession of
white-robed people going down to the lake to be baptized. As they move
toward the water they sing, “Let’s go down to the river and pray.” As
the baptism ceremony begins, Delmar is overwhelmed by the beauty and the
mystery of this rite. He runs into the water and is baptized by the
minister. As he returns to his companions, he declares that he is now
saved and “neither God nor man’s got nothing on me now.” He explains
that the minister has told him that all his sins have been washed away.
Even, he says, when he stole the pig for which he’d been convicted. “But
y
ou said
you were innocent of that,” one of his fellow convicts exclaims. <br>
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“I lied,” he says, “and that’s been washed away too!” <br>
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Later the three convicts steal a hot pie from a window sill. The one who
felt that his sins had been washed away returns and places a dollar
bill on the window sill. </span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">Delmar
wasn’t made perfect by his baptism any more than any of the rest of us
are made perfect by our baptism. But he was conscious that it was time
for him to make a new beginning. That is why in understanding baptism we
begin with the washing away of our sins. </span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="font-size: small">King Duncan, Collected Sermons, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt"><a target="_blank" __removedlink__1958426865__href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8ABwQACg9bDkkNAwFKDAtXUVw%3D"><span style="font-size: small"><span style="color: purple">www.Sermons.com</span></span></a></span><span style="font-size: small">, quoting O Brother, Where Art Thou, by Joel and Ethan Coen </span></div>
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