Like Father, Like Son, Like Us

Sermon on Matthew 5:43, 48
Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
Our Hope Lutheran Church
Huntertown, Indiana
February 16^th and 17^th, 2020

“Love your enemies and pray for the one who persecutes you … You will then be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  (Matthew 5:43, 48)

Intro: “Like Father, like son…” As Christians, we don’t need to seek out God and form a personal relationship with him. He sought us, bought us, made us his children in baptism and give us faith so that we trust him. We do not do good works to become Christians; We do good works because we are Christians. We want to please our Heavenly Father so…

1.  Jesus urges Christians to be like their Heavenly Father
   1.  Forgive like your father forgives you
   2.  Be merciful like your father is merciful
   3. Love your enemies
   4.  Perfect like your father is perfect
2.  As both saints and sinners at the same time, we cannot do this perfectly
   1.  We can often manage outward obedience
   2.  Yet inside our emotions can sneak up on us without warning.
   3. The result is we are constantly at war with ourselves.
3. Jesus lived like his father for us.
   1. Jesus was born as the exact image of God.
   2. He lived a life of perfect obedience to his father heart and soul.
   3. He died to pay for our sins.
   4. We are now being made over in his image