1 Kings 8, Revelation 21, Luke 19
Pastor James Peterson
December 31, 2023
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The theme is this: God will dwell with us, and we will be His people!
Will the children come home for Christmas? This is the greatest concern for many. I hope that you all have had a chance to spend time with your families this Christmas. I am more and more convinced that the reason that we feel this way is that this is exactly what happens in the Christmas story. Jesus comes to earth. Jesus is born in Bethlehem. God is with us. God dwells with His people and lives with us in the flesh.
The other question is this: Will the children come to our church? This too is the question for so many churches in our day. It is absolutely true that the persons that the world cares so little about are exactly the persons that the church cares the most about. Why do we think this way? Probably at least for some of us, we think this way because Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” And Jesus says it more and more, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Certainly, it is no stretch of the imagination to realize that God the Father has this same concern. It is as if He asks, How can my children come home to live with me forever? It is important that we spend time with our families when we are able. And it is important that children are brought to this church. But God’s will and our hope is that all of God’s children will go home to heaven with God. This is why our church exists and why we celebrate today and why we support this ministry and why we come to church and why we believe what we do- that all of God’s children will enter the kingdom of heaven.
What is heaven like? Hear the words of St. John today: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. God the Father has a home prepared for us with plenty of room, for every soul in this room to dwell with Him and to be His people. Every Christmas gathering at its greatest moments gives us a foretaste of this. And yet every Christmas gathering is full of sinners and sometimes falls apart and sometimes makes things worse. But when God takes us home forever, all of that sin will go away, forgiven, forgotten, forever.
What is heaven like? John says, And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Heaven is like the biggest, best, church service there ever was. Even praying in the grandest cathedrals or singing in the best choirs does not compare with the wedding feast of the Lamb in His kingdom which shall have no end.
Let us mark this 75th anniversary of Word and Sacrament, of prayer and praise, of faith and fervent love for one another now. But let this day remind us too that one day the preacher will be Jesus and not me, and there will be one flock and one shepherd, and there will be no voters’ meetings and there will be plenty of fellowship hour. There will be songs and hymns and spiritual songs. Moses himself will teach you everything you need to know about Deuteronomy and Paul will teach all the richness of Ephesians. In a word, all God’s children will go to church to hear about Jesus.
What is heaven like? Here is the promise spoken and fulfilled. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “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. Here is the Gospel is a nutshell. Here is the story of the Bible reduced to one sentence. That God wants to dwell with us, live with us, and be with us. God wants to be our God and He wants us to be His people. God wants us to be His children. God wants to be our heavenly Father.
This is why Jesus came to earth on Christmas. And this is why He walked with us in Galilee and Samaria and Jerusalem. This is why He died on the cross. This is why He rose from the grave. For God desired our souls to save.
This is also why He built this church and why He continues to bless us. For here He continues His work, baptizing, teaching, and administering the Sacraments for the forgiveness of sins and the salvation of our souls. His promise throughout the Scriptures remains true for us: God will dwell with us, and we will be His people. That’s the relationship we need, that God loves us dearly, and that we will live with Him forever.
What is heaven like? St. John can only describe heaven in earthly terms. And he can only use the opposite of what we know and experience. John says, 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.” In a word, there will be no more funerals, only a wedding between Christ and His Church. In another way, there will be no more hospitals, for cancer will be healed and bones will be strong. We will be well and made new by God’s abundant grace and never-ending mercy.
For God Himself will dwell with us and we will be His people. For now, let us gather with our families each Christmas. For now, let us gather as St. John’s all our lives. For now, let us remember that God has promised that all of His children will come home to heaven. For now, let us rejoice and sing as we wait with faith toward God and fervent love toward one another.
I say to you once more, “God will dwell with you, and you will be His people!”
In the holy name of Jesus. Amen.
Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog
The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack
Rev. James Peterson
St. John Lutheran Church
Curtis, Nebraska
©2025 James Peterson. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com
