Sermon for Baptism of Our Lord: "Jesus in the Water"

 + Baptism of Our Lord – January 11^th, 2026 +

Series A: Isaiah 42:1-9; Romans 6:1-11; Matthew 3:13-17

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

 

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Fishermen and mariners will tell you that whenever you’re near rivers, lakes, or ocean to keep and eye on the water.

 

Deep currents run swift. Those peaceful ocean waves also have violent rip currents. The tranquil, moving river hides a raging undertow. That pristine, peaceful lake suddenly drop off into the depths.

 

Keep your eyes on the water.

 

Holy Scripture does something similar. God tells us to keep an eye on the water. For wherever you find water in God’s Holy Word, you’ll soon find God working for your salvation.

 

When it comes to the streams and seas of Scripture, keep your eyes and ears on the water. Why? Jesus is in the water doing what he does best with water: rescuing. Delivering. Saving. 

 

The promise of Jesus’ rescue on the cross runs its course through all the waters of Holy Scripture. The rising tide of God’s grace and forgiveness swell the waterways of his word. Beneath the seemingly calm and placid surface of God’s Word runs a deep current that flows downstream from the rivers that watered Eden to Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan all the way to your baptism.

 

This is why Paul says “faith comes by hearing.” It’s easy to look at the Jordan River and see merely a slow-moving meandering river. But when you look with your ears you discover something far deeper in the waters of Jesus’ Baptism. The water trickles and winds its way through the land, but underneath the water there’s a battle raging.

 

When Jesus dips his toes and dives into the Jordan River the doors of the deep and the vaults of the heavens open up in a deluge of God’s divine grace. All the waters of Scripture come rushing in as John baptizes Jesus. There’s the waters of creation with the Spirit hovering once again. There’s the flood and the ark and the dove resting on the Son of God and the Son of Rest and the greater Noah. There’s the Red Sea waters parted once again in a greater exodus. There’s the Jordan River splitting in two as the heavens are opened and the Father says “This is my beloved Son”. The path to paradise is paved with water. The liquid highway to the cross runs through the Jordan River.

 

When Jesus steps into those ordinary waters of the Jordan River he’s doing something marvelous and wondrous. For wherever there’s water, there’s God working for your salvation, deliverance, and rescue.

 

Keep your eyes and especially your ears on the water. 

 

Below the calm surface the Son of God is stirring the waters of salvation.

God incarnate churns the wells of salvation.

God’s beloved Son is the Captain of our deliverance, battling the leviathan of sin. Drowning the dragon beneath the waves. Flooding the grave with his grace.

Beneath the verdant banks of the Jordan a violent victory over death has begun. The one who treads into the Jordan will tread the serpent and all our trespasses under his water-soaked feet. The one who drips dry the waters of the Jordan is the one who drips and drains his own blood on the cross for you.

 

John is right. Jesus needs no baptism. He has no sin to call his own. He’s the God-man. The Righteous Redeemer incarnate. And yet, this is what Jesus has come to do. To do what you and I cannot and will not do on our own. To fulfill righteousness. To forgive sin. To raise from the dead. To tear the grave open from the inside. To rend the heavens wide open, flood you with forgiveness, and wash you clean.

 

Jesus’ baptism is like those infant mommy and me swim classes. Babies can’t swim on their own. They need a substitute. Someone to hold them in the water and save them from drowning. So Jesus goes in first. Not only tests the waters, but turns and churns the waters for us, mixing the font with his mercy. Splashing us with his grace and goodness. Flooding us with forgiveness. All while we’re held safe and saved in his pierced and glorified hands.

 

Where our love for God ebbs and flows, Christ’s mercy for you in the Jordan River and on Jerusalem’s cross overflows with life and salvation. A steady stream of grace and steadfast love flows from Jesus’ wounded side into the cup. Onto your lips. Into your body. Over your head and over body and soul. Washing. Cleansing. Hallowed waters. A divine flood that works faith and forgiveness. A saving bath of blessing. A deluge of God’s goodness and mercy.

 

It is for you as it was for Jesus in the Jordan River that day. Where there’s water, there’s God working his great and gracious salvation. Soaking you with his saving gifts. Pouring out his promises upon you and into you. 

 

So it is with your baptism. The water appears to be ordinary tap water. And it is. And yet it’s more. 

 

Beneath the surface of those calm waters rests the cross. Underneath the smooth surface of the font runs a swift current of salvation. 

Below the calm surface the God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - is stirring the waters with his word and promise for you. 

God incarnate churns the wells of salvation into a whirlpool of faith, hope, and love.

God’s beloved Son is the Captain of our salvation, battling the leviathan of sin. Drowning the dragon beneath the waves. Flooding the grave with his grace.

 

From our eyes baptism looks ordinary. Plain. Maybe even a little boring. But beneath the surface a battle is raging. Those waters are a violent flood for our old sinful flesh. A naval victory over the ancient serpent. Jesus drowns our sin and shame. Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Jesus washes us clean with holy water. Holy words. His holy presence. Those waters are death and life all in one drop.

 

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

 

Keep your eyes and ears on the water and the word. For there in the water. There in his word. There in his body and blood. There’s Jesus with you and for you. 

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon for Christmas 2: "The House of Jesus"

 + Second Sunday of Christmas - January 4th, 2026 +

Series A: 1 Kings 3:4-15; Ephesians 1:3-14; Luke 2:40-52

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

 

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?

 

God’s house is a foundational phrase in Scripture. It signifies who God’s people are. His household. The location where God dwells with us...in his house. The dwelling place of God is with man.

 

The dwelling place of God is also a 12 year old boy in the Father’s house. The Lord whom no earthly temple can contain, sits with the rabbis. Asking. Answering. Fulfilling. 

 

The ancient promise of the Father. Not only is Jesus in the temple. Jesus is the temple. And the priest. The altar. The sacrifice. The Lamb. 

 

And in Jesus, we become members of the Father’s household. His holy people. A holy family. Through the blood and life and death of the Son.

 

Jesus goes to the temple for the same reason he is born in Bethlehem and dies in Jerusalem. 

To redeem you, to destroy the temple of his flesh, raise it up three days later, and build his house with each of you as his living stones. 

 

Jesus goes to His Father’s house, not only for himself, but foryouus. For us who have the attention span of 12 year old boys, Jesus was perfectly attentive to God’s teaching. For us who have disobeyed every letter of that Law, Jesus knew every word – and kept every word of that Law for you. For us who fail to remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, Jesus rejoiced in hearing and learning God’s word. For us who fail to honor our father and mother, no matter our age, Jesus honored both his Heavenly Father, and went down to Nazareth with Mary and Joseph and was submissive to his earthly parents.

 

Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?

 

The foundations of this house reach down through the ages, back to Genesis. We may not think of the Garden of Eden as a temple, but it was. Beneath the verdant canopy, sacred trees buttressed God’s garden cathedral; holy fruit adorned its walls and ceilings; and God dwelt with Adam and Eve, giving them his goodness, mercy, and life. 

 

This was the house that Jesus built for Adam and Eve and all humanity. But this house did not stand forever. Adam and Eve preferred to fashion their own temple with their own hands out of fig leaves. Another house was needed.

 

And so the Lord told Moses to build a tabernacle. Wood. Gold. Silver. Bronze. Fine linens and garments, gems and tapestries. Oil for the lamp stands. Incense and fire for the sacrifice. Every square foot of that tabernacle was designed to give God’s holiness to unholy people. God dwelt with his people, was present with his promises in his holy house, and forgave sin by the shedding of blood. 

 

This was the house that Jesus built through Moses for all Israel, for the Passover, foreshadowing Christ our Passover Lamb who is sacrificed for us. Still, another house was needed. 

 

And so the Lord commanded David to build a house. The movable tabernacle became the magnificent temple. From Mt. Sinai to Mt. Zion, God established his house. But it was Solomon, not David who built a holy habitation for the Lord. God’s promise passed down through the generations, from David to Solomon to Mary. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

 

This was the house that Jesus built through Solomon for Israel. And yet, as glorious as Solomon’s temple was, it did not last. Solomon’s wisdom turned to folly.

 

But in the fullness of time, Gabriel came to Mary fulfilling Isaiah’s words: Unto us a child is born; unto us a Son is given.

 

I must be in my Father’s house. And he was, first in the temple of Mary’s womb, then in the temple in Jerusalem. An infant priest born to be our great high priest on the cross. 

 

Only now, everything that was true about the temple of old resides in Jesus. Jesus is your holiness, your cleansing, your redemption, your forgiveness. His blood is your blood, shed for you. His life is your life, lived and died for you. His death is your death so that when he rolled the stone away you rise with him. He reigns and rules for you. Intercedes for you. Laments and rejoices with you.

Even on the throne of heaven, Jesus is your temple, not of stones and wood and brick, but flesh and blood and bone, all for you.

 

I must be in my Father’s house.

 

The next time Jesus went up to Jerusalem for the Passover, He went to be the Passover Lamb, who takes away the sins of the world for you. And by his dying and rising, Jesus fashioned for himself a new house, a holy habitation in his own body. With his pierced hands Jesus builds his house and brings you home by his holy wounds. 

 

As St. Paul writes, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

 

In the water and word of your Baptism…God dwells with you and you with him. Jesus is here with you and for you, just as he was in the temple at age 12. Here he resides in the temple of bread and wine. His flesh and blood are given for you along with his peace, presence, and pardon for sin. Here he does for us what he did for the rabbis that day in the temple, only better. His word not only amazes, but atones. Absolves. Raises us from the dead.

 

All of this means that the same Word who became flesh, and Jesus who sat in the temple at 12 years old promises to be with you in every age and every season of life. He declares that you are a holy habitation of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

 

I must be in my Father’s house. And so must we. Today as we gather around the Lord’s table. And forever in the heavenly temple prepared for you by Christ before the foundation of the world. Jesus was in the Father’s house so that you will be welcome in the Father’s house forever.

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Sermon for Christmas Eve - Midnight Divine Service: "Christmas in the Dark"

 + The Nativity of Our Lord (Midnight) – December 24th, 2025 +

Isaiah 9:2-7; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-20

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

 

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Grim was the world and grey last night:
The moon and stars were fled,
The hall was dark without song or light,
The fires were fallen dead.
The wind in the trees was like to the sea,
And over the mountains’ teeth
It whistled bitter-cold and free,
As a sword leapt from its sheath.

 

The lord of snows upreared his head;
His mantle long and pale
Upon the bitter blast was spread
And hung o’er hill and dale.
The world was blind,
the boughs were bent,
All ways and paths were wild:
Then the veil of cloud apart was rent,
And here was born a Child.

 

The ancient dome of heaven sheer
Was pricked with distant light;
A star came shining white and clear
Alone above the night.
In the dale of dark in that hour of birth
One voice on a sudden sang:
Then all the bells in Heaven and Earth
Together at midnight rang.

 

Mary sang in this world below:
They heard her song arise
O’er mist and over mountain snow
To the walls of Paradise,
And the tongue of many bells was stirred
in Heaven’s towers to ring
When the voice of mortal maid was heard,
That was mother of Heaven’s King. (Noel, by J.R.R. Tolkien)

 

 

When we think of Christmas we think of light. And for good reason. Lights shimmer upon our gutters and dance around our rooftops. Light adorns the Advent wreath, as the flames grow brighter each week. The light advances. The Bridegroom draws nigh. Rejoice, rejoice, believers and let your lights appear. Son of Righteousness arises. Light dawns in the darkness.

 

Christmas is full of light because it is the birth of Him who is Light of light. Very God of very God. Begotten, not made. Light incorruptible. Light unquenchable. Light undimmable. Light eternal.

 

John bore witness to this Light. But he was not the light. One more finger in the dark. A watchman in the night. A voice in the abyss. Arise, shine. Your Light has come.

 

The true light which enlightens everyone, has come into the world. The very Word of God who spoke in the beginning: “Let there be Light” is the same Light of the world in human flesh. The Son of God is born the Son of Mary. He who has no beginning or end makes a beginning for us. Jesus Christ is the Light of the world, the Light no darkness can overcome.

 

And yet before the light breaks in, there is night. Christmas begins in the dark.

 

When all was still, and it was midnight, Your Almighty Word, O Lord, descended from the royal throne.

 

Christmas begins in the funeral pall of fig leaves in Eden. In the blood-tarred soil beneath Cain’s feet. And in the forty days and nights of darkness as Noah and his family float between the ancient abyss below and the tenebrous squalls above.

 

Christmas begins in the twilight of stars too innumerable for Abraham to count. In the dark night of Job’s anguish and agony. And in the bleak and barren wombs of Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Hannah, and Elizabeth.

 

Christmas begins in the shadows of Sinai where Moses glimpses God’s glory. In the pitch-dark of the first Passover where Israel’s firstborn are saved by the blood of the lamb. And in the flickering torches and trumpets blaring, Gideon and his three hundred piercing the dark with cries of deliverance on the day of Midian.

 

Christmas begins in the eventide of Israel’s kingdom. While hearts and hopes grow dim, the prophets tend the fires of repentance and redemption. It begins in the faithful remnant whose hearts have not been unlit by idolatry. In the nightfall of exile where God’s people cling to the beacon of God’s grace beckoning them to look down through the starless chasm to Bethlehem: For unto us a child is born; and unto us a Son is given.

 

Yes. Christmas begins in the dark. In the fitful slumbers of faithful Joseph. In the raven-shadowed hills where lowly shepherds kept watch over their flocks by night. In the obscurity and holy humility of the manger. And in the quiet, coddling arms of the Virgin Mary.

 

When all was still, and it was midnight, Your Almighty Word, O Lord, descended from the royal throne.

 

The Son of God descended into the darkness of the Virgin’s womb. Jesus came to dwell in the abyss of our afflictions. He joined us in the nightmare of our sin and brokenness. He walked through the valley of the shadow of death to the cross, eclipsed by billowing clouds of judgment. Down into the gloom of the grave he went – taking all our sin and death and darkness with him.

 

For in this Son of God and Son of Mary. In the child of the manger and the man of the cross. Here is light inextinguishable. Light that does not dim or fade. In him is life, and the life is the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

 

For…On this night, Isaiah’s words shine forth in fulfillment: the people who walk in darkness have seen a great light. The greatest light of all. The grand miracle. The glory of Almighty God becomes a gurgling, giggling, baby boy to save you.

 

On this night, we who dwell in a land of deep darkness, on us the Light of God incarnate shines forth in the blazing glory of God’s grace.

 

On this night, the angels message reverberates through the hills and hollers of Judea and to the ends of the earth. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

 

On this night, the halls of our Lord’s house radiate with glad tidings of great joy and the hills echo with luminous laughter and mirth.

 

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

 

Christmas may begin in the dark, but it doesn’t end there.

 

For tonight, sorrow, shame, and sadness are swept away by the Son of Righteousness.

 

Tonight despair, disease, and death are destroyed by Redemption’s happy dawn. At long last, Mary has delivered our infant Redeemer.

 

Tonight the darkness is chased away by the Christ Child born for you.

 

Glad is the world and fair this night
With stars about its head,
And the hall is filled with laughter and light,
And fires are burning red.
The bells of Paradise now ring
With bells of Christendom,
And Gloria, Gloria we will sing
That God on earth is come. (Noel, by J.R.R. Tolkien)

 

 

A blessed Christmas to each of you…

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

 

 

Sermon for Christmas Day: "The God Who Dwells"

+ The Nativity of Our Lord – Christmas Day, December 25th, 2025 +

Series A: Isaiah 52:7-10; Hebrews 1:1-6; John 1:1-14

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

 

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

The hallway of Holy Scripture begins and ends with a promise. Even in the ruins of Eden, YHWH’s promise rang out: A word. A woman. A wild child will be born to crush the serpent under his feet. For that happen…the dwelling place of God has to be with man.

 

At the other end of the hall, in the renewed Eden of the new creation, the same promise echoes again in a joyous refrain: 

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

Holy Scripture begins and ends with this promise. And every word, person, place, time, and event in between  is the working out of this promise. The dwelling place[ of God is with man

 

This is the story of Christmas. The God who descends and dwells with you. And dies for you. 

 

And yet, long before God made his bed in Bethlehem. Before the Son of God became the Son of Mary. Before the Almighty Lord was laid in a manger. Before the One who makes all things new did something new in his incarnation, our Lord proves that He is no stranger to strolling into his creation and making himself at home.

 

The God who kicked his infant legs in Mary’s womb and upon her lap had once walked in the cool of the garden with his great-many-times-over grandparents, Adam and Eve.

 

The God who held in Simeon’s arms at forty days old paid a visit to the tents of Abraham and Sarah.

 

The God who is born in Bethlehem dwelled with Moses in the burning bush. 

 

The God who has teeth and toes and tiny fingers once made his dwelling in the tabernacle.

 

The God who bounced upon Joseph’s knees in the woodshop once sat enthroned between the cherubim.

 

This is the wonder and mystery and holy awe of Christmas. The Architect becomes part of his blueprints. The Author enters his own story. The Playwright takes center stage. God is made man. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The word there is “tabernacled”. Jesus is the tabernacle and temple in human flesh. No longer is God’s holy presence hidden behind a veil confined to a sacred space. Jesus is our sacred space. Jesus is the meeting place of heaven and earth. The dwelling place of God is with man and is most clearly seen in the God who is made man for you.

 

At Christmas, the Almighty becomes approachable. The great Adonai has an address. The infinite makes himself and infant. The God of Sinai steps forth into the manger. The fire that once burned upon that mountain top now flickers in the eyes of a newborn Child. The Lord that Jacob saw at the bottom of his ladder has come down to dwell with us. 

 

Christ’s incarnation is one small step for God. And one giant leap for mankind. 

 

There in the manger, divine majesty stoops down in mercy.

 

Jesus’ flesh and blood and bone, is our flesh and blood and bone. The Babe of Bethlehem is our brother in the flesh. This little diapered divinity is also the Son of David, Son of Mary, Son of God. Born to make you and me – sons of Adam and daughters of Eve – into his beloved, baptized, children of God. 

 

For in his descending you are hoisted out of your grave.

In his incarnation is your redemption.

In his humility is your holiness.

In his death is your life.

In his resurrection is your rescue and restoration.

In his dwelling with us and for us, our eternal dwelling with him is already prepared.

 

For the dwelling place of God is with man. But not just back then in Bethlehem. And not only in the resurrection of the body yet to come. 

 

The dwelling place of God is with man today. On Christmas. God still descends to dwell with us and deliver to us his divine gifts.

 

The God who was washed in Nazareth as an infant and baptized in the Jordan River abides with you in the water and word of your Baptism.

 

The God who made the Torah and Psalms and Prophets his holy homestead still makes his holy habitation among us in his holy word.

 

The God who ate and drank in the homes of Pharisees, tax collectors, and sinners still dwells among us as we eat and drink food that forgives all sin.

 

This Christmas, the God who dwells with man. became man. died and rose and ascended as God and Man still loves to dwell with us. 

 

(Author, G.K. Chesterton captures this well in his poem, The House of Christmas)

 

A Child in a foul stable,
Where the beasts feed and foam;
Only where He was homeless
Are you and I at home;
We have hands that fashion and heads that know,
But our hearts we lost - how long ago!
In a place no chart nor ship can show
Under the sky's dome.

This world is wild as an old wives' tale,
And strange the plain things are,
The earth is enough and the air is enough
For our wonder and our war;
But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swings
And our peace is put in impossible things
Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings
Round an incredible star.

To an open house in the evening
Home shall men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
And all men are at home.

 

God descends to dwell with you. Dies for you. Delivers you. This is the story of Christmas. The dwelling place of God is with man. And because of Christmas, your dwelling place is with Christ.

 

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And still does. Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. He is your life. Your salvation. And in Him is your home. Now and forever.

 

 

A blessed Christmas to each of you…

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.