Loving God, sometimes we have a hard time with your grace, thinking instead that everybody should get what they deserve.  Help us to see how much more you have given us than what we deserve, and to give thanks for the gift of salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    In conversations with other Christians, there is one particular gift that Lutherans bring to the table, and that is our emphasis on God’s grace.  Martin Luther’s great “aha” moment that sparked the Reformation recognized that we are saved by grace, through faith, for service in Christ’s name.  In other words, God saves us - not because we have done enough to deserve it, but as an undeserved gift.  That’s basically what grace means: an undeserved gift.

    We are baptized as an undeserved gift.  We receive the Lord’s Supper as an undeserved gift.  And both of these sacraments bring with them the gift of God’s forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ.  We are saints because that is what God has made us – God’s holy people – through our baptism into Christ.  We are saints in spite of the fact that we are not perfect people.

    Some of you might remember hearing about somebody last week who had not been acting particularly saintly – King David, to be exact.  Today’s reading focuses more on his son, Solomon, but did you notice how Solomon describes David?  While talking to God, Solomon says, “he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you” (1 Ki. 3:6).  So how come Solomon was able to say this about his father David?... [David was forgiven.  His sin had been blotted out and put away by God.] That is God’s grace!

    God is also gracious to Solomon in today’s reading, giving him not only the wisdom and understanding for which he had asked, but so much more.  In the story that follows about the two prostitutes who come to Solomon for help, Solomon passes on this grace to them.  He hears their case even though they would have been considered the lowest of the low, and he gives them a decision that is both wise and just.  In this case, he passes on the blessing that he has received from God to others.

    For us, as people who believe in Jesus, we also receive the grace of God and are called to pass it on to others.  Forgiveness and salvation are given to us through Jesus Christ, and God also gives each one of us gifts to be used in the service of others.  In fact, each young person who is being confirmed today has received gifts from God.  Each one has different things that they are good at, and each one has different things that interest them.  However, what they have in common is faith in Jesus Christ, and the gifts of forgiveness and eternal life that God has given them through baptism.

    I have asked each of them to share a little bit today about the difference that it makes in your life when you believe in Jesus.  I’m going to invite them to come and share their answers with you now. ... [speeches]

    One of the gifts that comes to us through Jesus is the gift of love.  During our confirmation classes, we have looked at countless illustrations of what it means to follow Jesus and to believe in him.  The key in all of these is love: love for God and for one another, and loving and serving one another as Jesus has first loved us.  This love is both God’s gift and God’s command.  And each time we are able to live it out, God’s kingdom comes just that little bit more “on earth as it is in heaven” (Mt. 6:10).  By the power of God’s Spirit, may this continue to be so.  Amen.

Reformation / Confirmation (NL 1)                    1 Kings 3:4-28
October 26, 2014                                Matthew 6:9-10
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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