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Dear family and friends students staff and faculty. Grace, mercy and

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peace, be unto you from God, our Father and our Lord, and Savior

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Jesus the Christ.

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Amen.

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The text for today's sermon is the reading that Noah just read from

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Luke chapter 1.

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When students enter the Specific Ministry Pastor or SMP program on

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their first night of their orientation week.

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They participate in a unique and singularly impactful event.

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They know what I'm talking about.

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They share their stories of how the Lord brought them to this place.

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They hear, engaging and inspiring

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and almost every case descriptions from one another from guys, who

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will soon

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go from being complete

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strangers to dear brothers in the Lord as part of their cohort.

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How anyone comes to the Seminary is always an interesting narration of

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the Lord working in their lives.

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With SMP students, the stories can be quite involved.

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Because if you look around and notice them, as you can see, many of

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them have a lot of gray hair or not a lot of hair at all.

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I won't say how much older they are than residential students, but

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it's decades on average.

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But it means they often have a lot of very interesting life

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experiences of how the Lord and in a number of cases, how the Lord and

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they have been involved in

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we might say a tug-of-war for many years.

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In fact, there's a particular Old Testament Prophet that gets referred

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to a lot that they identify with, and you might be able to guess who

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that is.

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He's a fellow whom the Lord was trying to call but he kept running in

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the other direction for a long time.

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In fact, the Lord provided some interesting persuasive experiences for

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him like being swallowed by a big fish.

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All those things to get his attention and set him on the right course

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for what the Lord wanted him to do.

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Well, we know, of course who that prophet is, Jonah.

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But today we're going to recognize the Divine call for a number of

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these men who have been called in a Specific Ministry who are

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celebrating the completion of the SMP program who are in their last

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class.

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Who I've heard their Jonah's stories years ago.

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But today in the church calendar, we have presented to us another

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prophet with whom to identify.

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That is John the Baptist.

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Today is the commemoration of the birth, of John the Baptist, it is

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after all six months before the Nativity of Our Lord.

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Yeah, kids out there

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it's only six months till Christmas.

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And like Jonah, John was called by God for this work.

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But unlike Jonah, he was on this course from the start.

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As today's reading indicates, he was born for it.

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He was given a calling and an assignment that was clearly God's will

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for his young life from the point of conception.

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Well, we could focus on distinctive aspects of John's life because

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there are some his unexpected birth announcement by an Angel to barren

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parents.

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His amazing recognition of the Lord Jesus while still in the womb of

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his mother. His unusual, living conditions, his strange diet and

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dress.

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Well, those are very unique and important aspects of his life.

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John had quite a story too you know, today though, I want to focus

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instead on the basic fact that John like Jonah, like these men was

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called by God.

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That's it was called by God.

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He had a Divine calling.

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And what was John's vocation his calling?

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In the words of Jesus, in Matthew chapter 11, he was a prophet.

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He was the last and greatest Prophet Jesus says. He came before Jesus

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to prepare the way for him.

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His work was predicted by another prophet

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centuries

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earlier. Prophet Isaiah who prophesied a voice of one calling in the

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wilderness.

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Prepare the way for the Lord.

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So that was his job, his calling, his vocation, his work to be a

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prophet

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who would prepare the way for the savior.

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Now, whenever sinners do anything, good, and we can relate to this,

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because we're all sinners.

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Behind it is the Lord calling us to that work. Luther had a name for

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our callings, our vocations, he described them as masks of God.

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Masks of God.

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You know, it looked like John the Baptist out they're declaring

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Jesus, to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

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It appeared to be John the forerunner, as he is, sometimes called by

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the, by the ancient Church. Preparing the way of the Lord by people

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preaching

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a baptism of repentance for the Forgiveness of sins

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and it was.

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But behind the man and his mission was the Lord, the Lord calling

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equipping and sending him to do the Lord's work.

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John was his instrument to prepare the way for Jesus saving mission.

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And even with all the uniqueness of John's particular calling,

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he could simply say as one of my old professors used to say of the

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ministry.

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I only work here, I'm not in charge, I am called to this work by

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another by my Savior

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and Lord, he runs the show.

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Today, it's important for you and me to say the same thing to keep our

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focus on Jesus.

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To keep pointing to him, not to ourselves by what we do by, how we act.

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To Him, as the saving lamb, who was sacrificed for us for the whole

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world, on the altar of the Cross.

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Who rose from the dead showing that he paid for the sins of the entire

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world, your sins, my sins, to save all believers.

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It is important therefore as ministers that we on this commemoration

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of the Nativity of John, the Baptist join John in pointing out that he

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must increase, but I must decrease that's to be our posture as we

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carry out the calling of the ministry.

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That is a good thing for the people that you are called to serve.

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You canidates you pastors.

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Similar to John, you are to prepare the way for the Lord coming to

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them through the preaching of the law for repentance.

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You are to announce to God's people that Jesus is the Lamb of God who

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takes away the sins of the world, takes away their sins.

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You do this to use the words of Zechariah which we heard and will

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later sing Zechariah, John the Baptist's father, who described him and

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his work as in this way as you give knowledge of Salvation to his

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people and the Forgiveness of their sins.

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As you proclaim, the one who came to give light to those who sit in

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the darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet

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in the way of peace.

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Yes, this is your calling focused on the promise of Salvation and it

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is good for your people that you have it.

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It's also good for you.

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The message of forgiveness that God points and puts

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it in the mouth of prophets pastors and even members of the royal

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priesthood of all the baptized

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is also a message for you.

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A message for you to hear the Lord also raises up Servants of the word

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to give that promise to other Servants of the word as well.

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You know, when life was pressing in hard on John the Baptist and he

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was being persecuted.

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I pray, you don't get persecuted like him, but he was being persecuted

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for carrying out his calling.

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He struggled with doubts, he asked whether Jesus was really the

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Savior.

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And the Lord sent messengers to him to announce that Jesus was, in

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fact, fulfilling the Messianic prophecies. To say that he is indeed the

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promised Savior, even John's Savior.

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Well, the Lord also sends messengers to you to announce the

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forgiveness of sins and salvation in Jesus.

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He sends his servants to bring the Light of Christ into the darkness

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of your despair, and there are times of despair as pastor.

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Like he does through your brother's, your spiritual brothers, in the

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cohort. Like he does in our congregations, in this chapel and wherever

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God's people gather in Jesus name.

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Pastors need to remember this.

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And let me say to you pastors and would be pastors out there.

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I can offer, no better advice to a pastor then I can to your

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laypeople.

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To regularly receive the ministry of the Holy Absolution from a

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servant called to serve you with the Forgiveness of sins.

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Maybe not called in a congregational setting, specifically, but who

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God calls in the ministerium of his church.

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Find yourself as a penitent as an earpiece, not just a mouthpiece for

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the Lord. Have as a habitual

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practice regularly, receiving the Forgiveness of sins

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from a pastor.

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Yes,

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also from Christian friends and family, I don't downplay that at all

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I'm a big advocate for that, that's important. But just because you're a

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pastor, don't neglect the gift of the Pastoral office for you too.

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Because once a person is called and ordained your stories, continue

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the stories of Jesus working in in our lives that kind of tug of war

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continues as well.

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And yes, he works through you but he is also working for you.

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As he did for John the Baptist the last and greatest Prophet needed

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that.

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So listen for Christ promises for you and look forward to that day

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when those promises are fully fulfilled when Christ returns.

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When he returns to usher in a new life where those crosses and

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hardships are no longer there at the resurrection and the commencement

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of Life Everlasting.

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Take that single thought to heart.

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Amen.

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And now may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.

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Keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life Everlasting.

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Amen.