St. Luke Ev. Lutheran Church-WELS
Sermon delivered by
Pastor Anthony E. Schultz

Genesis 2:7 Pentecost 14 September 10, 2006

And the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.

People of God—rescued from the flaming lake of fire in hell by the innocent blood of the very Lamb of God:

There once was a huge—a massive block of marble quarried—cut out of the hillside near the town of Carrara, in the Alps in Northern Italy. It wasn’t a very pretty stone. In fact it had tiny microscopic holes that caused it to deteriorate faster than other marble. It also had a rather obvious fault—a flaw passing through the stone. One sculptor named Angostino and another named Antonio started to carve this block—but both quit—due to their lack of experience and skill and that flaw running through the stone. The stone just sat there for some 25 years. It was only then—that a young sculptor—just 26 years old—started to work on it. It was this coming Wednesday morning—in the year 1501—that Michelangelo—early in the morning—started to chisel away at that stone. Michelangelo always believed when it came to sculpting—it was not your task to carve out a figure. It was your task to release the figure that was trapped within the stone! Three years later—there stood David—the moment he has determined to do battle with the warrior giant Goliath. David stands 17 feet tall. You can see the veins in his right hand. Michelangelo had done human dissections in the morgue in the night—to understand the structure of the muscles and the bones in the human body. The proportions of David are not quite accurate—especially the upper part of David—in order that when you stand at the foot of the statue it will look correct—from that point of view! People have said the detail of Michelangelo’s sculpting—the fact that he so polished the marble—it almost made the stone look warm—even alive. And yet the fact remains only our Heavenly Father could do that. Only our Heavenly Father could take soil—warm and moist—and not only shape it into a human form. The LORD alone could make it alive! Today we celebrate the greatness and goodness and grace of our Heavenly Father. Only because he is good is it true:

We Are Children Of God

1. Our Heavenly Father Made Us
2. Our Heavenly Father Redeemed Us

The part of God’s Word we are concentrating on—is part of the very first book of the Bible—the book of Moses—the book of beginnings. The book of beginnings assumes the existence of God. It begins with God powerful, active and good—making everything out of nothing. The LORD made light to pierce the darkness—the absolute darkness. Most people are not much for darkness. We have a street light—just next door. It shines brightly through the night. Most little people have a night light—a Little Mermaid or a Finding Nemo or a Winnie the Pooh—Tigger night light. When grandma and grandpa come to visit we put a little night light in the bathroom so they can find their way—if they have to get up in the night. Even church has emergency lights—that are supposed to blink on if the power fails and the lights go out. We have ‘EXIT’ lights all over the place! Most of the time there’s some light—even when you cover up your eyes—you can see some light through your fingers. Even when you put on a blindfold—you can see some light through the bottom! There was no light—until the LORD said, “Let there be light!” His will was more than enough to make it so. It was evening—it was morning—a day—just like we have—24 hours of 60 minutes each! From then on the LORD created and organized and filled up the universe with everything he wanted! The LORD God separated the water on this planet from the water in the sky. Do you ever take time to look at the clouds? Huge puffy scoops of mashed potatoes? Ginormous piles of whipped cream? Have you watched dark storm clouds gather on the horizon—rolling over themselves—then sending down the rain in sheets? Have you watched the grey clouds of winter—that begin to snow clumps of snow flakes? We don’t have time to talk about all the things God has made. Suffice it to say he made the most wondrous world—filled with plants and animals, with birds in the air and creatures in the deepest oceans and all over the soil. The LORD God saved the best till last. And the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.

Martin Luther in his explanation to the first article—says—I believe that God has made me and all creatures—that he has given me my body and soul—my eyes ears and all my members—my reason and all my senses. God made me and all creatures! What makes our Trinity St. Luke’s Lutheran School—our Lakeside Lutheran High School and our Luther Preparatory School is the fact every subject is taught in the light of God’s Word! Our schools teach about the wonderful works of God. Take reading. We teach reading so you can read some of the most wonderful books of all. Stories like Dr. Faustus—a man tempted to sell his soul for wisdom, earthly wealth and power. Mephistopheles—servant of Satan—gives Faustus great power and earthly wisdom for a time. But then the day comes when Jesus’ words come true—what is a person profited if he gains the whole world—yet loses his soul? At our schools we learn how to read so we can read the most important book of all—God’s Word—the Scriptures! At our schools we can pray and we do pray. We pray first thing in the morning—during our opening devotions. We pray before and after meals. We pray during our afternoon devotion. We pray at the end of the day. We pray during the day. We pray without ceasing. We understand about dinosaurs—made by Jesus—huge creatures in this world. We understand about diplodocus and triceratops and pterodactyls and tyrannosaurus rex! In music we can play our instruments to give glory to God. In sports we can learn the discipline the apostle Paul talked about—running—keeping our eyes fixed on the goal. Not beating the air—but focused. That we can play sports as a team—encouraging one another. That it is never ok to cheat. It is never ok to learn how to cheat in such a way as not to get caught. That there are things more important than winning! At our schools we teach history in the light of God’s Word! Do you know the first President? Of course you do—George Washington! Who was the first Vice President? John Adams—was vice president for two terms—two frustrating terms. Then John Adams became President. After him—Thomas Jefferson—who kind of like President Ford—was not very smooth—but kind of prone to stumbling and crashing. Thomas Jefferson—wasn’t the best public speaker—but was very good with quill and ink writing—so much so—that when he was only 33 years old—he pretty much wrote the Declaration of Independence. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died—within hours of each other--both—on the 4^th of July in 1826. How neat is that? Did you know that? Our school teaches world history in the light of law and gospel—according to the good and gracious will of our Heavenly Father. All things—everything—works together for good—to those who love God!

The LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground. Consider the human body. The human foot contains 26 bones—each in their place. The human ankle or tarsus has 7 bones—just like the human wrist has 7 carpals—like carpal tunnel problems? The human head has 29 bones—14 in your face—8 in your cranium—that part that holds your brain in. There are six bones inside your ears—the little tiny hammer, anvil and stirrup! You know how doctors take their little light and shine it in your ear? There is another little bone at the top of your throat. All these parts work together—to make us able to hear and think and swallow—giving glory to God! When we go to school—our teachers explain that this is all part of God’s wisdom and blessing—from the very beginning—when God made Adam and Eve! Our teachers in our schools explain about God’s wonderful gift of “hugs and kisses”—about how life begins at conception. That “hugs and kisses” are part of God’s plan for marriage. Our teachers in our schools explain about God’s plan for marriage—for one man and one woman to be married. Then if Jesus is gracious—he gives you babies—to bring to be baptized—to teach God’s Word—so they will go home to heaven!

And the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. How do you buy a present—a gift for someone you love—if they already have everything? It happens every year—around Christmas time. What do you buy my dad for Christmas? Well, the other day—when my dad came to visit—we listened very carefully. And my dad said he really liked my little Swiss Army Knife. It’s not one of those huge ones—with a fork and spoon and cork screw. It’s just a little one. It has this really neat little scissors. It’s very sharp. It works perfectly—like when you have a little bag of potato chips or cheese doodles—and you try and try and try to open them—and then all of a sudden the whole bag tears apart—and there are chips everywhere. Or you have a little package of Berres Brothers coffee—and you can’t get that open either. Or if you get one of those little pieces of skin right next to you finger nail. And you are tempted to bite it. And if you do—and tear it—every time you touch something your finger hurts? So—this year for Christmas we are going to get my dad a little Swiss Army Knife! I know he will like it—because I heard him say so. Now—what does Jesus want from you? Jesus wants something exceedingly personal. What Jesus wants is your heart. Jesus said the most important thing of all is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind. Jesus wants your heart! He wants your immortal soul! He wants you to dedicate every moment of every day—to serving Him! God gives you the priceless gift of time! What will you do with the years, the weeks and months and days, the hours, the moments Jesus gives you! The more you appreciate Jesus’ forgiving love—the more you want to do something—everything for Jesus. Grow up and be missionaries, pastors and teachers and staff ministers and Sunday School teachers—literally teaching God’s Word. And what about those little boxes of envelopes that say thankoffering on the outside? Don’t you use them too—not out of guilt or pressure or obligation—but joyfully and cheerfully—out of thankfulness for Jesus’ love!

And the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. Did you hear about the jogger named Eddie—who went jogging the other day. He was jogging by the University of Central Florida—when he went down this little foot path—and got lost in a swamp. Eddie thought he could just keep going—but he got stuck—stuck up to his waist in the water and mud. Eddie was stuck there for 4 days! Eddie’s friends brought their friends and went looking for him. They heard him yelling, “Help, help, help!” One of the searchers who heard him and said, “Hey, are you looking for Eddie?” He said, “I am Eddie!” Eddie was helpless—drinking swamp water—getting eaten by the bugs! We were more helpless than that! We were more helpless than a man literally stuck in the swamp. Jesus rescued us. Jesus died to save us! When you know Jesus’ forgiving love like that—don’t you want to do something about it? Don’t you want to not just send the missionaries—don’t you want to be the missionaries? Don’t you want to be the North American Outreach?

And the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. In 1499 Michelangelo sculpted a statue of Jesus—after he died on the cross—being held in his mother’s arms. People who are experts in discussing art—again say the proportions of the people in this statue are not technically accurate—because it is so difficult to make them look correct when you are standing several feet away—and maybe looking up. Part of the problem is—our eyes and our mind have trouble—processing all the aspects of such art. The story is told—after this statue—the pieta was on display. That Michelangelo stood in the background to hear what people might say about his work. That he overheard people giving the credit to a man named Cristoforo—an artist Michelangelo considered to be quite his inferior. Michelangelo was so jealous—he went back that night—and with his hammer and chisel carved the words Michelangelo Bonaroti, the Florentine, made this—on the sash across Mary’s gown! How sad is that? By the grace of God—we will remember we are but dust and ashes! It is simply and only because Jesus died and rose again to save us that we have identity—precious in God’s sight for Jesus’ sake! Only by the grace of God will we remember that—and act like that—to his glory alone. Amen!

To God alone all glory!

Rev. Anthony E. Schultz