First Lutheran Church of Little Rock

A. In the Name of the Father…Amen.

B. The Epistle lesson serves as our sermon text for this morning.

C. Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God our heavenly Father through
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

D. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:

LSB 573:1-2 Lord, ’Tis Not That I Did Choose Thee

Lord, ’tis not that I did choose Thee;
That, I know, could never be;
For this heart would still refuse Thee
Had Thy grace not chosen me.
Thou hast from the sin that stained me
Washed and cleansed and set me free
And unto this end ordained me,
That I ever live to Thee.

It was grace in Christ that called me,
Taught my darkened heart and mind;
Else the world had yet enthralled me,
To Thy heav’nly glories blind.
Now I worship none above Thee;
For Thy grace alone I thirst,
Knowing well that, if I love Thee,
Thou, O Lord, didst love me first.

Introduction

A. A nursing infant gazes at her mother’s smiling face while that mother
ponders the wonder she cradles in her arms.

A. She marvels at the tiny little life that the Lord has knitted together
in her womb.
Psalm 139:13 (NASB95)
For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.

B. Her heart bursts with love for her little child, and she ponders with
hope her baby’s future, praying it will be filled with meaning and purpose.

B. In so many ways, this little child is you, the Church of Jesus, for you
in Baptism have been:
1 Peter 1:3 (NASB95)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to
His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
A. For this new life, God is nourishing you:
1 Peter 2:2 (NASB95)
like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you
may grow in respect to salvation,

B. Joined to Christ, you are chosen and precious to God. And he has
purposeful work in store for you as:
1 Peter 2:5 (NASB95)
you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a
holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through
Jesus Christ.

C. Today, the living Word of The Living Savior Exalts Your Status as God’s
Newborn, Chosen, Priestly People.

A. Joined to the resurrected Christ by baptismal grace, you are a newborn
people.

A. Baptized into the risen Christ, his people are:

1 Peter 2:2 (NASB95)
like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you
may grow in respect to salvation,
A. Life is pure gift.
a. We can give ourselves neither physical nor spiritual life.
B. God, our Father in Christ:
1 Peter 1:3 (NASB95)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to
His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

B. We are growing up into salvation (verse 2).

A. This is not growing toward a salvation we do not yet possess,
B. but growing into a salvation fully bestowed upon us in Christ.
C. For this growth, we need and receive the nourishment of “pure spiritual
milk,” that is, the Word of God.
a. God’s Law warns us against the empty calories of idolatry, which simply
is this:
Isaiah 55:2 (NASB95)
“Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does
not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight
yourself in abundance.
B. God’s Gospel offers the nourishment God has lavishly supplied in the
life, death, and resurrection of Christ.
D. Here:
a. we have tasted that the Lord is good (verse 3, Psalm 34:8),
b. calling to mind God’s Means of Grace.
1. The written and spoken Word of God (Gospel)
2. Holy Baptism
3. Holy Communion
c. Faith craves that Word over the empty and harmful food the world offers
in its word and wisdom.
d. A healthy newborn does not find nursing a chore.
e. The child lives for it.
f. When Jesus told his disciples they must become like little children
(Matthew 18:2–3), he spoke of this absolute dependence on his grace.
E. To grow, we also need and receive nurture.

C. Illustration
a. A newborn is nearsighted and cannot see very far away.
b. But the distance from the mother’s breast to the baby’s face is just the
right distance for the newborn to gaze upon the mother’s loving face.
c. In a similar way, as the Church is nourished by “pure spiritual milk,”
she is able to look upon the loving face of God in Christ.

B. From that nurturing love, the infant children of God learn their
identity as chosen people.

A. Granted, the Church is not chosen or precious in the world’s eyes.
a. In the world’s eyes, her Lord was
1. “rejected by men” (verse 4; Isaiah 53:3),
2. seen in his Passion and death.
b. She shares in that rejection, as exemplified in Stephen (Acts 7:51–60).
c. This rejection tempts her to doubt her status as chosen.

B. But she is chosen and precious in God’s eyes.
a. Her Lord Jesus is chosen and precious, the living cornerstone upon which
God builds his Church
1 Peter 2:6–7 (NASB95)
6For this is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE,
A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE
DISAPPOINTED.”
7This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who
disbelieve, “THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY
CORNER stone,”
Psalm 118:22 (NASB95)
22The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.
Isaiah 28:16 (NASB95)
16Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a
tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He
who believes in it will not be disturbed.

B. As she feeds on God’s pure spiritual milk, the Church is reassured:
a. First, there is no reason to envy the world, which (apart from
repentance) can only face separation from God
1 Peter 2:8 (NASB95)
and, “A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE”; for they stumble because
they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

B. Second, her true status in God’s eyes is an exalted one.
a. Once lost in sin, she was “Not My People,” but grace has made her the
people of God.
b. Once, her name was “No Mercy,” but now she has received mercy
1 Peter 2:10 (NASB95)
for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had
NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.
C. In Christ, she is the Father’s beloved, infant child.

C. Living in Christ and sharing his status, you also share in his priestly
purpose.

A. Joined to Christ, the Christian becomes a living stone (verse 5), and is
being built up:
a. Into a spiritual house:
1. the dwelling place of the living God,
b. For a holy priesthood:
1. qualified by grace to serve in God’s presence,
c. To offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

B. Her spiritual sacrifices are in no way atoning sacrifices for her own
sins.
a. That work belonged uniquely to Jesus
Hebrews 7:26–27 (NASB95)
26For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent,
undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;
27who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices,
first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He
did once for all when He offered up Himself.
Hebrews 10:10 (NASB95)
10By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of
Jesus Christ once for all.
B. And “it is finished” (John 19:30), something his resurrection has
confirmed.

C. Rather, the Church shares in his priestly work of glorifying the Father.
a. This includes sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise
1 Peter 2:9 (NASB95)
But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR
God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who
has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
B. It also includes the work of intercession,
a. praying for others:
1. including our enemies (as did Stephen, Acts 7:60).
C. It finally includes our witness:
a. in word and deed,
b. to God’s love for all in Christ.

D. Illustration
a. We have all heard the expression, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”
a time or two.
b. On the one hand, you may think some abstract work of art is ugly or even
offensive, even though art experts somewhere have valued it at hundreds of
thousands of dollars.
c. Meanwhile, stuck to your refrigerator door with a magnet is a simple
drawing from your little grandchild, which leaves much to be desired in
terms of technique and would mean nothing to anyone else, but to you, and
yes, it is a treasure.
d. God treasures us.
1. This is not due to some special beauty or quality in us.
2. In fact, our sin had earned us the names:
1. “No Mercy” and “Not My People” as declared by the Lord to the Hosea.
(Hosea 1:6, 9).
3. Yet God in his redeeming love has joined us to Christ through Holy
Baptism.
4. Although the world sees no beauty in God’s people, they are connected to
Christ and therefore, chosen and precious in God’s eyes
1 Peter 2:4 (NASB95)
And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but
is choice and precious in the sight of God,

Conclusion

A. As “aliens”, the term Peter uses at the beginning of his first letter,
the Church will not enjoy an exalted status in the world’s eyes.
a. But joined by baptismal grace to your resurrected Lord, you, his Church,
have become his newborn, chosen, priestly people who glorify God and
witness to his love for the world.
b. Joining in his priestly work, you intercede for the world and bear
witness in word and deed to your risen Lord, whose love is working through
his Church’s ministry, inviting the world to become with you his newborn,
chosen, priestly people.
c. Amen.

B. Let us pray:
LSB 573:3Lord, ’Tis Not That I Did Choose Thee

Praise the God of all creation;
Praise the Father’s boundless love.
Praise the Lamb, our expiation,
Priest and King enthroned above.
Praise the Spirit of salvation,
Him by whom our spirits live.
Undivided adoration
To the great Jehovah give.
Text: Public domain

C. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

D. In the Name of the Father…Amen.

A. In the Name of the Father…Amen.
B. The first reading from Acts 2 serves as the sermon text for this morning.
C. Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God our heavenly Father through
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
D. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:

LSB 911:1 Lord, This Day We’ve Come to Worship
1
Lord, this day we’ve come to worship;
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Grace us with Your blessèd presence;
Blessèd Savior, be our host. Refrain

ref
Alleluia, alleluia,
Alleluia, praise the Lord!
Alleluia, alleluia,
Alleluia, praise the Lord!

Introduction

A. As beautiful as the scene of our sermon text is, it almost has a “Once
upon a time” feel to it.
1. This is not to say that St. Luke is romanticizing things or that he
doesn’t have his facts straight.
2. It just seems that the scene he describes is like nothing we have ever
experienced before.
3. And if you have never experienced such a beautiful scene, perhaps you
wonder what help Luke’s words have to offer.
B. We should not assume these conditions of the early church would be in
the church’s future.
1. Luke lets us peer through a small window into life in the early church.
2. What we get to see through that window is by no means a full-length
feature film, but it is also much more than a mere snapshot.
3. The church described in our text is bustling with activity:
a. a vibrant life of worship
b. and an avalanche of generosity toward the needy,
c. a beautiful camaraderie that no snapshot could capture.
4. It’s like the flurry of activity you see when an ants’ nest has been
stirred up.
a. Every single member of the body seems to be busy with something.
C. Perhaps to us, the problem with this beautiful scene is that it (almost)
lacks any problems.
1. You almost have to read between the lines to find anything less than
ideal.
2. Apparently, not everyone in Jerusalem had yet come to faith in Christ.
3. But at the same time we hear these words:
Acts 2:43 (NASB95)
43Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were
taking place through the apostles.
4. The people were:
a. Acts 2:47 (NASB95)
47praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was
adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
5. There were people who needed help
Acts 2:45 (NASB95)
45and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing
them with all, as anyone might have need.
a. but those needs seemed to be met as soon as they came to light.
6. So if there is any problem with this beautiful scene, it’s that it seems
too beautiful.
a. We have a hard time relating to it.
b. After all, we live in what we have cynically come to refer to as the
“real world,” right?
D. We may live in the “real world,” but for that “real world,” God in his
grace has provided a real Savior, the risen Lord Jesus Christ, our Good
Shepherd.
1. I don’t need to tell you that the church today is living in the “real
world,” a world where sin seems out of control, where it’s often hard to
distinguish the church from the world it’s supposed to be witnessing to.
A. Churches embracing homosexuality as an “alternative” lifestyle.
B. Condoning rearranging the order of God’s creation:
1. It’s okay if a boy wants to be a girl.
2. It’s okay if a girl wants to be a boy.
3. All this is to be seen as “normal”.
4. If it makes you feel better about yourself, do it!
5. This is not normal and it is wrong according to God and His Word!
C. Today’s church faces a growing opposition from the world around it.
1. Now, this is nothing new for many Christians around the word, but for
the church here in North America, this is not something we are accustomed
to.
a. Then we hear, far more often than we would like, of scandals within the
church:
1. embezzlements,
2. sexual misconduct,
3. misappropriated funds,
4. things that give the church a real black eye and have the world telling
the church to clean up its own act before it dares to preach to others.
b. Individually, we all have our own battles against sin:
c. not big, public scandals, per se,
d. but private problems that only we and maybe a close friend or two know
about.
e. But they are still battles, and they leave us bruised and wounded.
2. Then there are wounds we’re nursing from others’ sins against us, and
our struggle to forgive as we have been forgiven.
a. Add these all together, and it seems our world bears no resemblance to
the world Luke describes in our text for this morning.
D. But remember: as beautiful as it is, the scene Luke describes is just a
small window into the early church.
1. It teaches us some wonderful things, but Luke is not suggesting that the
early church faced no real problems.
a. Keep reading! In chapter 4, real hostility arises against the church as
Peter and John are arrested for proclaiming the Gospel.
b. In chapter 5, the church faces scandal.
1. Ananias and Sapphira apparently wanted to see their names on a big wall
plaque, announcing what generous people they were.
2. They pretended to make a big donation to the poor, but it was all for
show; and to pull this off, they lied:
A. to the church,
B. to the apostles,
C. but ultimately to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3).
c. Moving on to chapter 6, we hear the Greek-speaking widows complaining
that they were being discriminated against.
2. We could go on and on, but you get the point.
a. Whatever else Luke is teaching us, it is not that the early church faced
no real problems.
b. The world of those early Christians was every bit as “real” as ours is.
2. But for people (then and now) who find themselves in the “real world,”
our text proclaims the life that comes from the very real (and risen)
Savior.
A. Jesus lives! The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
1. Luke’s description of life in the early church is beautiful, not because
those Christ­ians faced no real problems, but because they were learning to
face real problems with a real and living Savior!
2. Jesus lives!
B. And because he lives, we shall live also—in him!
John 14:19 (NASB95)
19“After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see
Me; because I live, you will live also.
1. Our Good Shepherd is leading his flock to life.
a. With David, we pray:
Psalm 23:6 (NASB95)
6Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
2. But the Scriptures also make it clear:
a. eternal life does not eventually begin when you die in faith.
b. Eternal life has already begun from the moment God joined you in faith
to Christ, your Good Shepherd, in and through your Baptism.
John 5:24 (NASB95)
24“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who
sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed
out of death into life.
3. The Good Shepherd leads us through the valleys of life:
Psalm 23:4 (NASB95)
4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no
evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
4. Why does He do this?:
Psalm 23:6 (NASB95)
6Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
5. No doubt, we look forward to that glorious day.
a. But that life is already now being manifested in his church.
C. That’s what makes our text so exciting.
1. It’s not that the early church had no real problems.
a. It’s that they knew they had a real Savior, and that glorious truth
could not help but show itself in how they lived out their faith.
2. That life manifested itself in their devotion to the Lord’s Word and
Sacrament.
Acts 2:42 (NASB95)
42They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and
to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
a. Luke is speaking of the three thousand or so who had come to faith in
Jesus on Pentecost.
3. They were steadfastly devoted “to the apostles’ teaching” because that
is where they heard the voice of the Good Shepherd’s.
4. They were devoted to “the fellowship,” their sharing together in Christ
and all his gifts, including the gift of the family of faith.
5. They were devoted to “the breaking of bread,” which may have included
the Agape meals that were part of the early church, but it especially
involved the regular celebration of the Lord’s Supper.
6. And they were devoted to “the prayers.”
a. For God had made them:
Exodus 19:6 (NASB95)
6and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are
the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”
b. and they earnestly took up their priestly work of interceding for
others.
c. The early church lived from a rich, vibrant life of worship!
7. Because they were so strongly connected to their Good Shepherd’s voice,
that Word took root in them and made them agents through whom the Good
Shepherd extended his care to others.
Acts 2:45 (NASB95)
45and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing
them with all, as anyone might have need.
a. No one told them they had to do this.
b. It was simply the natural care and concern they had for one another as
part of the flock of the Good Shepherd.
D. Yes, the church today has problems.
1. But what better time to manifest the life and love of Christ?
a. The same God of love,
b. the same risen Savior,
c. the same Holy Spirit,
d. They are all still at work in the church today!
2. The church of Jesus continues to be fed and strengthened by our Lord’s
Word and Sacrament.
a. We gather together to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd by:
1. Devoting ourselves to the apostolic teaching,
2. To the fellowship,
3. To the breaking of bread,
4. And to the prayers.
3. Strengthened by these gifts of grace, the church of Jesus continues to
serve as the agent through whom the Good Shepherd extends his care to
others in their various needs.
a. First among those needs is the proclamation of the Gospel.
1. Everyone still needs to hear that Jesus has died for her or his
salvation!
b. But lots of other activities bear witness to that Gospel:
1. food pantries,
2. grief counseling,
3. care for the sick and dying.
4. these and countless other expressions of care are a natural outgrowth of
the church’s life, and they all happen because our real and living Savior
lives in and through his church.
Conclusion

A. We sometimes speak of people who “look at life through rose-colored
glasses.”
1. We have in mind people who are overly optimistic and seem not to want to
face reality.
2. Such an over-optimistic outlook can be dangerous when it refuses to take
into account the real sin (and its effects), the real evil, that has
infected God’s good creation.
3. When the optimism has no foundation, sooner or later the bubble will
burst, leaving behind it shattered hopes, dreams, and even lives.
B. In the resurrection of Jesus, God allows his people to look at life
through Christ-colored glasses (Acts 2:42–47).
1. Our optimism is not based on ungrounded personal wishes, but on God’s
sure and certain promise grounded in the death and resurrection of Christ.
2. As we look at life and the world, we can view it as marked with the sign
of the cross.
3. We can look at life as it truly is:
A. as part of God’s very good creation, beautiful, and yet infected with
(and affected by) sin.
B. So, there will be times of joy and beauty.
C. There will also be times of sorrow, sadness, and suffering.
D. But all of it falls under the promise of God’s steadfast love in Christ,
E. Romans 8:28 (NASB95)
28And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those
who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
C. Life in the early church as St. Luke describes it might seem too good to
be true, like it’s not part of the “real world.”
1. Just remember: our text is not the church’s whole history.
2. Other parts of that history testify to sin’s ongoing presence, and to
the church’s ongoing need for a very real Savior.
D. But the church has just such a Savior; and while our text is not the
church’s whole history, it is a very real part of that history, and it
demonstrates the very real life which our very real Savior has imparted to
his beloved, forgiven flock.
E. While Leading You, His Sin-Wounded Sheep, to Life, the Good Shepherd
Creates among You the Very Life to Which He Is Leading You.
F. And you shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever! Amen.
G. Let us pray:
LSB 911:3,5 Lord, This Day We’ve Come to Worship
May Your Word enrich our spirit,
Give us strength to do Your will,
Show the kingdom we’ll inherit,
When at last our voice is still. Refrain

Celebrate the resurrection
In the church and sing His praise,
Till we come to true perfection:
Serve the Lord through all our days. Refrain
Text: © 1995 Richard C. Dickinson. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no.
110000247
Amen.
H. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
I. In the Name of the Father…Amen.