Jesus Christ is For Us and With Us based on Romans 8:31-39

I. Holding hands.

II. Today is LWML Saturday/Sunday. LWML stands for “Lutheran Women’s Missionary League.” The women of the LWML regularly gather “mites” or small amounts of money for the purpose of helping mission projects and missionaries around the world. One of the recent LWML Mission Grants was for $100,000 to a Lutheran college in need of support funding. Grant funds will be used for pastoral education projects, including scholarships and seminary needs in Kenya, Togo West Africa, and Uganda, as well as general support of six missionaries — five pastors and one layman. Another recent LWML Mission Grant was for $42,000 for The Littlest and Least of These calls for the renovation of the 65-year-old fellowship hall of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Dallas, Texas, into space for the St. Paul Christian Academy. It will allow the congregation to serve more children and to add on-site and online classes for young adults and parents in academic subjects, health, and fitness, as well as Bible studies and classes for new Christians. There are many other mission projects supported by the LWML collections of mites to help bring the good news of Jesus to people in our nation and in our world. For 80 years the LWML has been pointing people to God’s love in Jesus holding each of us.

III. The questions of Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

IV. Because Jesus is for us and with us we do not need to fear everlasting punishment. Romans 8:31-32 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Romans 5:3-5 “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 8.1 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:33-34 “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

V. Jesus even now is interceding for us. Jesus is praying for us. Corrie Ten Boom, who spent time in a Nazi concentration camp during WWII, once said, “There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still.”

VI. Mission of the LWML to a hurting world.

VII. Because Jesus is for us and with us we do not need to fear separation either. Romans 8:35-39 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

VIII. Still have struggles, but God’s love is for us in Jesus.

IX. Our world might seem out of control. God is still in control. God wants us to share the overflowing love He has for us in Christ Jesus with the people around us. We are more than conquerors through faith in Christ Jesus. The words of a famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” tell us, ““No strength of ours can match his might. We would be lost, rejected. But now a champion comes to fight, Whom God Himself elected. You ask who this may be? The Lord of hosts is He, Christ Jesus, mighty Lord, God’s only Son, adored. He holds the field victorious.” (LSB 657, v. 2)

X. Our victory is secure because of Christ’s hold on us and thank you LWML.