OurAdventInheritanceTitus3 3 8
December 18, 2025
Rev. Nathan J. Rusert
The Third Midweek Advent Vespers 17-December-2025 Advent Series Theme: “Baptism: God’s Advent Into Our Life.” Sermon Text: Titus 3:3-8 Sermon Theme: “Our Advent Inheritance!” I. God Gives All To Poor Miserable Sinners In Baptism! (Vs.3-7) II. Baptismal Faith Flows Forth In Love! (Vs.8) by Rev. Nathan J. Rusert
Episode Notes
The Third Midweek Advent Vespers 17-December-2025
Advent Series Theme: “Baptism: God’s Advent Into Our Life.”
Sermon Text: Titus 3:3-8
Sermon Theme: “Our Advent Inheritance!” I. God Gives All To Poor Miserable Sinners In Baptism! (Vs.3-7) II. Baptismal Faith Flows Forth In Love! (Vs.8) by Rev. Nathan J. Rusert
I.N.R.I. A week from today, the season of Advent ends and the season of Christmas will begin. We joyfully anticipate gathering together with family and friends. Children wait to see what they’ll find under the tree. For others the grief of the first Christmas without the one they loved crushes their hearts and fills their eyes with tears.
I remember Christmases as a young child. Our family’s tradition was to open our presents on Christmas eve after returning home from our Christmas eve program. When my Dad took on the vacancy at a neighboring congregation, my older brother would drive us around to look at Christmas lights in town. After forty minutes or so we longed to get home to open our presents, by then Dad had returned home and set up his movie camera. We burst into the house full of excitement.
There was only one thing that could rob us of our joy that evening. If we received a toy that stated “batteries not included.” A toy robot that needed “D Cell” batteries to walk - wasn’t any fun without them. A flying saucer that needed “C Cell” batteries to drive around the floor - didn’t have the appeal without any power. “D” & “C” cell batteries could often be swapped out of flashlights - and our toys would work for awhile.
One year I received a race track with race cars that needed “N” sized batteries. “Batteries Not Included” squashed my excitement. I’d have to wait a week until we ventured to a bigger city with a Radio Shack to buy the batteries my race cars needed to run.
Why wax nostalgic about past Christmas presents without any batteries? Many people, even many Christians, view baptism as a gift that comes with a big tag - “Batteries Not Included!” The devil whispers, ‘Baptism is worthless without your decision!” Your flesh chimes in, ‘I have to first find Jesus and accept Him into my heart!” The world chortles, “Fools - its just water!” Don’t listen to their lies. Don’t allow them to take your ears off of Jesus and turn your eyes back on yourself.
Paul’s congregation at Galatia thought they had to “do something for God” Baptism and the Gospel wasn’t enough. Remember what he wrote to them? Gal 3:1-3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? (2) This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— (3) Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?
This evening repent! Turn from thinking baptism is an empty ceremony, unless you put your power into it. Learn well: “Our Advent Inheritance!” I. God Gives All To Poor Miserable Sinners In Baptism! (Vs.3-7) II. Baptismal Faith Flows Forth In Love! (Vs.8)
I. To whom does the Triune God gift baptism? Paul reminds pastor Titus to preach - (vs.3) Who were we? “Foolish” - Fools, who said in our hearts that there is no God. We maybe warmed a church pew, but deep inside we were God denying fools. It showed in our actions - we were disobedient. To parents, teachers, bosses, and our government. We disobey because we think we can be our own gods - Satan still whispers his original lie into the ears of our hearts.
We were fools deceived by the lie that we have no sin. The lie that these are our own bodies and we can do what we want with them. Deceived by the lie that God’s Holy Ten Commandments don’t apply to us in 2025. We are deceived that we are free to follow our feelings - only be enslaved by our various lusts and pleasures. We destroy living human beings and mutilate our own bodies chained to various lusts and pleasures of our sin enslaved minds.
Enslaved to sin we live in malice - wickedness - hating those who don’t celebrate our perversions. In foolish deceit we follow the footsteps of our father the devil - we are hateful and hate one another. Who are we? “Poor, miserable, lost, and justly condemned sinners!” We have no batteries, no spiritual spark within, to make baptism work!
What makes baptism work? (LSB pg.325 Baptism Part 3 H.C.W.D...?) It is not the water that makes baptism effective. We don’t import water from the Jordan River! The power is “The Word of God in and with the water!”(vs.4-5) We didn’t find Jesus - He was never lost - we were from our father Adam. The kindness and love of God our Savior - Christ Jesus appeared to us! From eternity the Triune God saved us through Jesus - into our human history - this creation - the kindness and love of God appeared! He stepped into the watery womb of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit’s life creating Word preached by Gabriel. He stepped into the waters of our baptism at the Jordan to be proclaimed the one Sacrificial Lamb of God bearing away the sins of the world by the priest named John. He appeared! To be baptized into the hell our sins deserved and drown in our death on the cross. He appeared three days later - alive breathing us anew by Holy Spirit given forgiveness. You didn’t find Him - He has found you! The prophet Isaiah echos His Word, Isa 43:1-2 But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. (2) When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. ....”
Baptism isn’t water - it is water filled with Jesus - the Word of God. He is in the water. He is with the water! He does all to rescue you by His mercy - not by your sin tainted works of righteousness. Baptism is the Triune God birthing you again to an eternal inheritance in Jesus by the Holy Spirit in His Word.
You don’t make a decision for God. He decides for you in Jesus. How do you know? He baptized you. Baptism regenerated you from death to life. Freed you from Satan to God. Rescued you from hell to mercifully grant you eternal life!. Listen!(vs. 6-7) We don’t find the Spirit in our guts, emotions, or our music. He is poured out on us by God the Father through Jesus Christ our Savior! Now you are justified.
God’s court has been seated. The books opened! God declares, ‘You are Mine!” My Home is Your Home! Your inheritance cannot be taken away by any on earth - it is reserved for you in heaven!” How can this be? (LSB pg.325 Baptism Part 3 H.C.W.D...?) Jesus is in the water of your baptism breathing forth the Holy Spirit that you cling alone to God the Father’s mercy to poor miserable sinners.
Not well that Dr. Luther tells us that the power of baptism is the Word of God in the water along with “The Faith which trusts this Word of God in the water.” “The Faith” isn’t your personal feelings about God - it is God’s revelation of Himself as Your Father who created and cares for you. Your Savior who redeems and shepherds you with His Grace. Your Sanctifier - the Holy Spirit who is at work daily through the Gospel to keep you in Jesus through forgiveness poured out in this Church. In short “The Faith’ is the term Dr. Luther uses for The Apostles’ Creed - Jesus’ teaching of reality through His apostles.
Without Jesus and Holy Spirit given faith to trust the Father’s Word - baptism has no power - it has no batteries. The Spirit of Truth testifies that Jesus - the Word of God is in the water - behold it bursts with the eternal power of our God. It is a life giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of new birth in the Holy Spirit! How do you know? It is written! "He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying" (Titus 3:5-8).
II. Baptism washed God’s eternal inheritance upon you in Jesus by the Holy Spirit. By faith alone - trusting in Jesus alone as our Savior from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil - we receive all from our Father as gift.
How do we use the gift as we wait to see it full unfolded in the life of the world to come? (Vs.8). Good works flow from saving baptism faith out from us to serve our neighbor. We are never saved by helping others, but being regenerated we love one another as God in Christ has loved us poor miserable sinners. Our strength and power flows from Jesus in the waters of our baptism through us by the Holy Spirit to live as our Father’s beloved children caring for other poor miserable sinners. The power of baptism is always included! Amen.
Advent Series Theme: “Baptism: God’s Advent Into Our Life.”
Sermon Text: Titus 3:3-8
Sermon Theme: “Our Advent Inheritance!” I. God Gives All To Poor Miserable Sinners In Baptism! (Vs.3-7) II. Baptismal Faith Flows Forth In Love! (Vs.8) by Rev. Nathan J. Rusert
I.N.R.I. A week from today, the season of Advent ends and the season of Christmas will begin. We joyfully anticipate gathering together with family and friends. Children wait to see what they’ll find under the tree. For others the grief of the first Christmas without the one they loved crushes their hearts and fills their eyes with tears.
I remember Christmases as a young child. Our family’s tradition was to open our presents on Christmas eve after returning home from our Christmas eve program. When my Dad took on the vacancy at a neighboring congregation, my older brother would drive us around to look at Christmas lights in town. After forty minutes or so we longed to get home to open our presents, by then Dad had returned home and set up his movie camera. We burst into the house full of excitement.
There was only one thing that could rob us of our joy that evening. If we received a toy that stated “batteries not included.” A toy robot that needed “D Cell” batteries to walk - wasn’t any fun without them. A flying saucer that needed “C Cell” batteries to drive around the floor - didn’t have the appeal without any power. “D” & “C” cell batteries could often be swapped out of flashlights - and our toys would work for awhile.
One year I received a race track with race cars that needed “N” sized batteries. “Batteries Not Included” squashed my excitement. I’d have to wait a week until we ventured to a bigger city with a Radio Shack to buy the batteries my race cars needed to run.
Why wax nostalgic about past Christmas presents without any batteries? Many people, even many Christians, view baptism as a gift that comes with a big tag - “Batteries Not Included!” The devil whispers, ‘Baptism is worthless without your decision!” Your flesh chimes in, ‘I have to first find Jesus and accept Him into my heart!” The world chortles, “Fools - its just water!” Don’t listen to their lies. Don’t allow them to take your ears off of Jesus and turn your eyes back on yourself.
Paul’s congregation at Galatia thought they had to “do something for God” Baptism and the Gospel wasn’t enough. Remember what he wrote to them? Gal 3:1-3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? (2) This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— (3) Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?
This evening repent! Turn from thinking baptism is an empty ceremony, unless you put your power into it. Learn well: “Our Advent Inheritance!” I. God Gives All To Poor Miserable Sinners In Baptism! (Vs.3-7) II. Baptismal Faith Flows Forth In Love! (Vs.8)
I. To whom does the Triune God gift baptism? Paul reminds pastor Titus to preach - (vs.3) Who were we? “Foolish” - Fools, who said in our hearts that there is no God. We maybe warmed a church pew, but deep inside we were God denying fools. It showed in our actions - we were disobedient. To parents, teachers, bosses, and our government. We disobey because we think we can be our own gods - Satan still whispers his original lie into the ears of our hearts.
We were fools deceived by the lie that we have no sin. The lie that these are our own bodies and we can do what we want with them. Deceived by the lie that God’s Holy Ten Commandments don’t apply to us in 2025. We are deceived that we are free to follow our feelings - only be enslaved by our various lusts and pleasures. We destroy living human beings and mutilate our own bodies chained to various lusts and pleasures of our sin enslaved minds.
Enslaved to sin we live in malice - wickedness - hating those who don’t celebrate our perversions. In foolish deceit we follow the footsteps of our father the devil - we are hateful and hate one another. Who are we? “Poor, miserable, lost, and justly condemned sinners!” We have no batteries, no spiritual spark within, to make baptism work!
What makes baptism work? (LSB pg.325 Baptism Part 3 H.C.W.D...?) It is not the water that makes baptism effective. We don’t import water from the Jordan River! The power is “The Word of God in and with the water!”(vs.4-5) We didn’t find Jesus - He was never lost - we were from our father Adam. The kindness and love of God our Savior - Christ Jesus appeared to us! From eternity the Triune God saved us through Jesus - into our human history - this creation - the kindness and love of God appeared! He stepped into the watery womb of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit’s life creating Word preached by Gabriel. He stepped into the waters of our baptism at the Jordan to be proclaimed the one Sacrificial Lamb of God bearing away the sins of the world by the priest named John. He appeared! To be baptized into the hell our sins deserved and drown in our death on the cross. He appeared three days later - alive breathing us anew by Holy Spirit given forgiveness. You didn’t find Him - He has found you! The prophet Isaiah echos His Word, Isa 43:1-2 But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. (2) When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. ....”
Baptism isn’t water - it is water filled with Jesus - the Word of God. He is in the water. He is with the water! He does all to rescue you by His mercy - not by your sin tainted works of righteousness. Baptism is the Triune God birthing you again to an eternal inheritance in Jesus by the Holy Spirit in His Word.
You don’t make a decision for God. He decides for you in Jesus. How do you know? He baptized you. Baptism regenerated you from death to life. Freed you from Satan to God. Rescued you from hell to mercifully grant you eternal life!. Listen!(vs. 6-7) We don’t find the Spirit in our guts, emotions, or our music. He is poured out on us by God the Father through Jesus Christ our Savior! Now you are justified.
God’s court has been seated. The books opened! God declares, ‘You are Mine!” My Home is Your Home! Your inheritance cannot be taken away by any on earth - it is reserved for you in heaven!” How can this be? (LSB pg.325 Baptism Part 3 H.C.W.D...?) Jesus is in the water of your baptism breathing forth the Holy Spirit that you cling alone to God the Father’s mercy to poor miserable sinners.
Not well that Dr. Luther tells us that the power of baptism is the Word of God in the water along with “The Faith which trusts this Word of God in the water.” “The Faith” isn’t your personal feelings about God - it is God’s revelation of Himself as Your Father who created and cares for you. Your Savior who redeems and shepherds you with His Grace. Your Sanctifier - the Holy Spirit who is at work daily through the Gospel to keep you in Jesus through forgiveness poured out in this Church. In short “The Faith’ is the term Dr. Luther uses for The Apostles’ Creed - Jesus’ teaching of reality through His apostles.
Without Jesus and Holy Spirit given faith to trust the Father’s Word - baptism has no power - it has no batteries. The Spirit of Truth testifies that Jesus - the Word of God is in the water - behold it bursts with the eternal power of our God. It is a life giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of new birth in the Holy Spirit! How do you know? It is written! "He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying" (Titus 3:5-8).
II. Baptism washed God’s eternal inheritance upon you in Jesus by the Holy Spirit. By faith alone - trusting in Jesus alone as our Savior from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil - we receive all from our Father as gift.
How do we use the gift as we wait to see it full unfolded in the life of the world to come? (Vs.8). Good works flow from saving baptism faith out from us to serve our neighbor. We are never saved by helping others, but being regenerated we love one another as God in Christ has loved us poor miserable sinners. Our strength and power flows from Jesus in the waters of our baptism through us by the Holy Spirit to live as our Father’s beloved children caring for other poor miserable sinners. The power of baptism is always included! Amen.
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