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Victory Sermon Series: Charge Into Battle

the big idea:

The season of Lent brings us face to face with the greatest clash of all time. During Lent we witness the supreme champions of both good and evil hold nothing back as each seeks with all his might to destroy the other once and for all. As we watch this battle our eyes are focused on Jesus because our hopes of freedom and future glory rest in him.

On the Sundays in Lent, Jesus will train and equip us for our own spiritual battles. We will see that there is no one more qualified or more capable of bringing us victory on our personal battlefields than he who has already conquered sin and death for us. We can boldly and courageously charge in battle!

the breakdown:

March 6: Jesus Leads the Charge
When a soldier goes into battle, he wants to be certain of his captain’s ability to lead the charge. Over and over again throughout the scriptures the Lord stands behind his prophets, his apostles, his Word, and especially his Son Jesus Christ, giving testimony from his own lips along with powerful visual proof that, when it comes to the spiritual battles in our lives, Jesus is the one to follow.
Scriptures: Exodus 24:12,15-18; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Matthew 17:1-9; Psalm 110
Sermon Text: 2 Peter 1:16-21

March 13: Into the Conflict With Temptation

A soldier’s only sweetheart on the battlefield is his weapon. It’s the one thing that stands between him and certain death. As Jesus stood face to face with temptation and battled this cruel enemy for us, his “sweetheart” was the power of the truth of God’s Word. The Christian soldier longs to learn from Jesus how to make the Word more and more his “sweetheart” on temptation’s battlefield.
Scriptures: Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11; Psalm 3
Sermon Text: Matthew 4:1-11

March 20: Into the Struggle Over Whom To Trust

There’s a lot of confusion on a battlefield, a lot of voices shouting a lot of different things. The spiritual battlefield is no different. There’s the voice of reason, the whisperings of our culture, the cries of the religiously misled—all enticing us to listen to them and follow their lead. The wise soldier listens to voice of the one who fulfills every promise, who sent this world a Savior, who loves each of us so much that he reaches out to us personally in Word and Sacrament.
Scriptures: Genesis 12:1-8; Romans 4:1-5;13-17; John 4:5-26; Psalm 121
Sermon Text: John 4:5-26

March 27: Into the Battle for God’s Perspective

Sometimes on the battlefield the smoke gets so thick a soldier has a hard time seeing anything. It’s a frightening experience. Our most terrifying moments on our personal spiritual battlefield are those times when we cannot see or refuse to see the situation before us the way God sees it. A Christian soldier’s constant prayer is that the Lord graciously open his eyes to see his life and the world around him from God’s perspective.
Scriptures: Isaiah 42:14-21; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-7; 13-17; 34-39; Psalm 143
Sermon Text: John 9:1-39

April 3: Into Combat as Servant Leaders

A soldier understands that he’s not fighting the battle alone. His platoon becomes his family. And he’s going to do all he can to protect his brothers, even sacrifice himself, if it becomes necessary. Jesus was the ultimate servant leader and he calls us, as soldiers of the cross, to follow his lead.
Scriptures: Genesis 37:1-11; Romans 8:1-10; Matthew 20:17-28; Psalms 42-43
Sermon Text: Matthew 20:17-28

April 10: Into the Clash With the Heartbreak of Death

Although death is everywhere on the battlefield, it still rocks a soldier to his core when one of his comrades is killed. Death is all around us. We know that our loved ones will not live forever. And still, when the moment comes, the heartbreak can paralyze us. As Jesus displays the power and authority he has over death, we find strength move forward.
Scriptures: 2 Kings 4:18-37; Romans 8:11-19; John 11:17-27,38-45, Psalm 115
Sermon Text: John 11:17-45

April 17: Join With Jesus in the Charge (Palm Sunday)

War can seem glamorous to those who never experienced the horror of combat. Palm Sunday looked like a party. No one understood what Jesus would soon go through. There will be all kinds of parties this weekend as our confirmands rightly celebrate this milestone to which God has brought them. But there will be many battles to come. Satan has not given up the fight. God’s encouragement to all of us today is to join with Jesus in the charge because that’s the only way we’ll survive.
Scriptures: Zechariah 9:9-10; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 21:1-11; Psalm 24
Sermon Text: Revelation 7:9-17