Eighty years ago, on September 26^th, 1926, five families with the last name of Hanson, Johnson, Matthison, Herbeck and Reque, along with the Ylvisaker family, founded Holy Cross Lutheran Church. Six months later, a church building, a little, white, wood-framed church building was erected, at 2670 Milwaukee Street. And for the past eighty years, through many changes of members, pastors, and buildings, (as our scripture reading says, "Every good and perfect gift comes from God Himself") God has been so good and so gracious to this congregation! For eighty years, He has enabled His Word to be taught here, in its truth and purity, souls to be nurtured, and souls to be fed. And, we owe the thanks and the glory, to God, alone, our Savior, Himself.

Thirty five years ago, this fall, Holy Cross Lutheran School opened its doors, with 53 pupils and two teachers. And, for the past thirty five years, again, solely by the grace of God, our Christian Day School, has been a place where the Lambs of Christ have been faithfully instructed in the Word of God and taught the One Thing Needful – Jesus, their only Savior from sin. And through all of the changes of staff and buildings, that One Thing Needful has remained firm and constant. And again, to God, alone, goes all of the glory.

An anniversary is a time to do two things. It is a time to look back over the past, and it is also a time to look off into the future. I wish all of you could have been here last night, to hear our speakers at our program, for the thirty fifth anniversary of our school. All of them were excellent! I want to draw your attention to one of them, because she put it so clearly and so succinctly. That was Miss Dachshund's speech. Miss Dachshund took our alumni, (people who had gone to school here, previously), back down memory lane. She took us back thirty five years ago. It was a wonderful journey, as people remembered the past at Holy Cross Lutheran School. And then, Miss Dachshund took us so clearly into the future. She did it this way. She said, "If you wait another thirty five years to have another Holy Cross reunion, I won't be here."

At first there was laughter, until it settled in to everybody's mind the impact of what she was saying. "If you wait another thirty five years to have a reunion at Holy Cross School, I won't be here."

And then she said, "But, I know where I will be. I will be in Heaven."

Then, she looked out over the alumni of Holy Cross Lutheran School and said, "I will be waiting for you. Be there!"

That is the ultimate purpose, that for the past eighty years this congregation has existed and the past thirty five years our Christian Day School has existed. The ultimate purpose of this church and this school is that everyone who has sat in these pews, everyone who has sat in a classroom here at Holy Cross, someday be in Heaven, with the rest of us, by the grace of Christ, our Savior.

Which takes me to some pictures that we saw, last evening. We had a beautiful display, a slide display, shined up on a projection screen. We were privileged to see thirty five years worth of pictures, here at Holy Cross. And, I am guessing that some of you, who had your picture displayed, maybe wished that some of those pictures could have been covered up, a little bit. There were some hair styles, from thirty five years ago, that brought some real laughter. There were some glass frame styles that brought some real laughter. And, there were a pair of shorts that Mr. Born wore, that brought some real laughter! And then, there were some cheer leading outfits that I am sure our cheerleaders would not be caught 'dead' in, today. They were photographs. They were pictures. And, they were real pictures. They were the way things really were, and the way things really looked. It is good for us to go back and to see what things were really like.

Our scripture reading today, tells us how important it is for us to take a good, hard, look at ourselves. Instead of using the image of a photograph, it uses the image of looking in a mirror, since they didn't have photographs in St. Paul's day. Listen to what it says,

"Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the Word, but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does."

There scripture likens us to looking at ourselves in a mirror. Or, we could say looking at a snap shot of ourselves. And, during an anniversary, it is a perfect time for us to do that. Let's imagine that the person with the camera is God, Himself. The photograph that is taken is a photograph of you. It is a photograph of how you appear to God, exposed in the bright light of God's Word and God's Law - His Ten Commandments. If that picture were to have been displayed last night on a projection screen, (a picture of you, as God really sees you, according to His Word, His Law), what would have been revealed? I can guarantee you, you would have wished it could have been covered up, because God, in His Word, speaks such strong words about each one of us. He says, "They have altogether become worthless. There is no one that does good. Not even one. All their righteousness are like filthy rags."

God, with the light of His Word, would display in our lives how we, time, and time, and time, again in our actions have done things that maybe only God and ourselves are aware of. But, He sees them. He knows them. And, they show in that photograph of who we are, in God's eyes.

✔ There would be a picture there of the thoughts we have had. God knows them, and we may know them. But, those are thoughts that could condemn us in God's eyes. Thoughts that we have had, and thoughts that failed to have that we should have had.

✔ There would be photos of words that we have said, that could stand us, as nothing but sinners, in the eyes of God.

So that if, last night in that room was displayed a photograph of you, as you stand in the eyes of God's Word and His holy, perfect Law, and God said to you, "Be perfect, as I, the LORD your God, am perfect," I can guarantee you, there would have been no laughter. Only the sound of terror and fear of God's hand coming down in judgment, declaring you guilty, and declaring you worthy of eternal condemnation, for all eternity.

If that troubles you, if that causes you to tremble and have a terror of God's wrath, a horror of God's judgment, and of Hell, then have confidence, because

you

are the one

God wants to talk to!

You

are the one

God wants to show His mercy to!

That is the reason that Holy Cross Lutheran Church has existed for eighty years, and Holy Cross Lutheran School has existed for thirty five years. It is to show you that there is a way that sinners are saved in the eyes of a holy and just God.

In scripture, we see another photograph, another picture, another look in the mirror of how God sees us. Only, it is a picture that was purchased by God, at a huge, huge, huge price. It is a picture, that by grace, (It is His own choice. You didn't choose it.) He chose to paste over the top of that picture of yourself, and cover up that picture of you.

➢ That picture is a picture of His own, dear Son, Jesus.

➢ That picture is the Son of God, your Savior, dying on the cross, and there suffering the full wrath of God, against all of your sins.

➢ It is a picture of Jesus making total, complete, full, absolute payment for every one of your sins.

➢ It is a picture of God, declaring to you, that for the sake of Jesus, and what Jesus has done, God does not see your sins. They are covered up. They are forgiven. They are washed away.

➢ It is a picture by which God says, "I see my Son's perfect life, covering up your life of sin. I declare you, for the sake of my Son, Jesus, to be holy, in my eyes."

That is the picture that James asks us to gaze at intently, and not forget what it looks like, what God has done for us. It is awesome for us to think that God has done that for every single one of us,

u without our asking,

u without our getting down on our knees and begging Him,

u without our even realizing it!

God has declared that the picture of Jesus Christ belongs to everybody in the whole world. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting men's sins against them. The whole world, by God's grace, has been covered up, by the righteous life and death of Jesus Christ. That is what has been proclaimed here at Holy Cross, for the past eighty years. It has been taught in our school for thirty five years.

But, we must also remember this. Not everybody benefits from that. The only ones who benefit from that are those who believe. The Bible says,

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ

and you

shall be saved."

There is a big difference between sitting in church, and

u hearing the Word of God.

There is a big difference between going to Bible Study, and

u listening to the Word of God.

There is a big difference between sitting in the classroom, taking tests on Bible History, and

u memorizing Bible verses.

There is a big difference learning hymn verses (which contain the Word of God), merely hearing the Word of God, and

u the Word traveling the most important eighteen inches in the universe, from our head to our hearts.

Those who believe in Jesus Christ, in their hearts, will be saved. If you believe that today, our scripture reading says,

"He chose to give us birth

through the Word of Truth."

All glory goes to God!

God chose to bring you to faith. He did it through His means, through the Word. And through that Word, He has convinced you that you are a sinner, saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. You are on your way to Heaven! That is the goal of Holy Cross Lutheran Church and School.

If you do not believe, if that Word has been implanted, but it has not traveled to your heart and taken growth, then

today

the Holy Spirit calls

you!

As our scripture reading says,

"Humbly accept the Word

implanted in you,

which can save you."

That Word is implanted. It is in your head. Humbly accept it, because it can save you. The Holy Spirit, today, through that Word, calls you humbly to repent of your sins and humbly to turn to Jesus, as your Savior, and cling to Him. So that, along with all of us, you can have that goal of eternal salvation.

Now, while it is the goal of Holy Cross Lutheran Church and our prayer that everyone the past eighty years or thirty five years, who has been here, will be in Heaven some day, that is not our only goal. Our other goal is that you live a transformed life, so long as you are here on this earth. Our scripture reading says,

"Do not merely listen to the word

and so deceive yourselves.

Do what it says."

Do what it says. If the Word of God, which you know in your head, has not found its way to your heart, and you do not believe in Jesus, as your Savior, your heart has not been transformed. And, you will not do what God's Word says. There will be no evidence of faith. But, what scripture is teaching is that if God's Word, which is implanted in your mind, here at Holy Cross, has found its way into your heart, and you believe in Jesus, as your Savior, then your heart has been transformed. As you look intently into those two pictures, (me a sinner covered up by Jesus, my Savior and I am saved by what my Savior has done for me), that transforms me on the inside. So, now we go forward and as saved people, bound for Heaven, we say, "So long as I live here on this earth, it is my goal to do nothing but live a life, a transformed life of praise and thanksgiving for my Savior and what He has done for me! I want to become a little "Christ." God sees me as forgiven. He sees me as holy, for Christ's sake. And, I want to become the way God sees me."

There is nobody who should live a more productive life here on this earth than people who have gone to church at Holy Cross Lutheran Church and school at Holy Cross Lutheran School, because you know the Gospel. You know Christ. Christ has transformed your hearts. If there is anybody who should be little "Christs" in their homes to their wives and their husbands, and to their children and their parents, who should be little "Christs" in their community, at their place of work, among their neighbors - it is those who have heard the Word of God. It has been implanted. It has taken growth in their hearts and they want to live for Christ, their Savior.

Thank God for thirty five years in our school, and eighty years in our church, where God's Gospel has been so clearly proclaimed. It is our fervent prayer that all of us believe in Jesus, as our Savior. And, here on this earth may we live transformed lives for Him, and grow more and more in Jesus, our Savior, so that one day, by faith in Christ, we will be all together in Heaven!

Amen.